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No organised presence of Daesh in Pakistan: FO

By Mariana Baabar
February 12, 2016

Spokesman says date for Pak-India secretary level talks not finalised yet; LNG deal with Qatar has nothing to do with US pressure on Iran-Pakistan pipeline project

ISLAMABAD: There is a marked difference between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Bureau over the grave issue whether the terrorist organisation Daesh is present and operating in Pakistan or not.

Responding to a question during the weekly briefing here on Thursday, the Foreign Office Spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, maintained that Daesh had no footprint in Pakistan but went as far as to claim, “There is no organised presence of Daesh in Pakistan”, hinting that the terrorist organisation might have an unorganised presence.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday DG Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan had clearly stated that the Punjab government had arrested members of Daesh following Karachi’s Safoora Goth terrorist attack.

He added that Daesh was emerging as a threat with militant organisations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba being associated with it. He had also pointed out that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was also associated with Daesh.

Though the IS and Afghan Taliban were rivals, the TTP has coordinated with it, he added.There appears to be all quiet on the Pathankot terrorist attack front as there’s no movement either from Pakistan or India on the investigations held so far.

On Wednesday, the NDTV stated that a senior Pakistani official had claimed that Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of the Pathankot attack, was on the run and may be hiding in Afghanistan.

The news came immediately after a meeting between an Indian journalist and Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.“I do not have information about the conclusion of investigation (on Pathankot). However, both sides remain in contact with each other on all matters related to bilateral issues. If there is any update, I will share it with you”, responded the spokesman on the ongoing investigations.

The foreign secretaries meanwhile are in contact to finalise a date for their meeting, as both sides understand that dialogue is the only way to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries.

“Both sides understand that dialogue is the only way to resolve the outstanding issues between the two countries. Both sides are in contact to finalise dates for the foreign secretary level talks,” he added while pointing to a similar  statement from the Indian Foreign Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj when she was in Islamabad for the Heart of Asia Meeting.

Meanwhile, the spokesman made it clear that Pakistan’s agreement with Qatar to acquire LNG had nothing to do with the US pressure on the Pak-Iran gas pipeline. “You are well aware of the extent of energy shortfall in Pakistan. Pakistan, like other countries, cannot depend on any single source for its energy needs. Therefore, it is working on various sources of energy supplies to overcome the acute shortage,” he said.

That despite several months of Pakistan agreei1:44 AM 2/12/2016ng to enter into a Saudi-led coalition against terrorism there still appears to be no clarity on what is expected from Pakistan or the government wants to keep its cards close to its chest.

This comes at a time when the Saudi government has announced that it is ready to put boots on the ground in Syria and also when Pakistan has already placed soldiers from the Pakistan Special Group inside Saudi Arabia.

“Let me reiterate that Pakistan has consistently supported all regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and extremism. It is in this context that we have welcomed the coalition against terrorism. Details will be worked out at the experts’ level,” the spokesman explained adding that Pakistan had consistently supported all regional and international efforts to combat terrorism and extremism.

“It is in this context that we have welcomed the coalition against terrorism. Details will be worked out at the experts’ level,” he added.Meanwhile, to a query by The News whether Pakistan had formally condoled the death or sent a delegation to the funeral of former Nepalese prime minister Sushil Koirala who passed away a few days ago, there was no response from the spokesman, who has been the DG South Asia and SAARC. India sent a strong all party delegation headed by Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to Kathmandu to attend the funeral.