Defence of Pakistan in safe hands, says Khawaja Asif

SIALKOT: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday the defence of Pakistan was in safe hands and no one could dare  to cast an evil eye on it.

Addressing the oath taking ceremony of newly elected office bearers of Sialkot Press Club, he said Pakistan would continue its efforts to establish a durable peace in Afghanistan.

"Pakistan always desired to establish good relations with its neighbours," he said. Khawaja Asif said the US drone attack was not the failure of Pakistan s foreign policy.

However, he said,  it had affected the efforts underway for establishing peace in Afghanistan. The minister said the top leaders of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) had safe shelters in Afghanistan and everyone knew the fact but no international power including the United States was ready to take action against those places from where TTP leaders (including Mullah Fazalullah) were busy in hatching conspiracies to destbalise Pakistan with the help of India.

He asked both the US and Afghanistan to show their sincerity for establishing durable peace. Khawaja Asif said Pakistan always  wanted to establish durable peace in Afghanistan but now both Kabul and the US should show their direly needed sincerity for the purpose.

Pakistan, he said, was keeping all options open over the US indecision over F 16 planes. He alleged that international powers including US were providing ammunition to India against Pakistan.

The minister said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had made Pakistan a nuclear power ignoring the international pressure. Despite internal and external threats, he said, Pakistan had achieved several big successes against terrorism.

He said the government was committed to weed out terrorism from the country and the the Zarb-e-Azb operation would continue till the elimination of last terrorist.

Khawaja Asif said India had not yet accepted the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. He said despite all the hurdles the CPEC project was moving ahead towards its goal which would open new vistas of socio economic and human development in Pakistan.

He said some political elements were raising the issue of Panama Papers for their personal and political gains.

The minister said there was a dire need for early establishment of a full fledged independent powerful institution for conducting the accountability of everyone without any indiscrimination.