ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-Ul-Haq Kakar Wednesday said the United States' denial or acceptance of its weapons being used against Pakistan is irrelevant, as it has now been objectively established that they are, in fact, being sold in the black market and also being used by terrorists.
He said that there is documented evidence pertaining to this fact and Pakistan was not stating it on the basis of a conspiracy theory.
"The 150,000-strong Afghan military disappeared within two days, where did their weapons go? The small weapons and arms they possessed were undocumented and no one knew who it was with," the premier said, responding to a question by Geo News during a press conference at the PM House in Islamabad.
Then, PM Kakar added, we see those weapons being sold in the black market and being used in terror incidents, which obviously led Pakistan to raise the issue at all levels, even with the Americans.
"These weapons are not only being sold in Pakistan's black market but across the region, going as far as the Middle East. This is a very dangerous trend," he maintained.
Commenting on the migrant crisis unfolding in the country in the wake of the repatriation of those belonging to Afghanistan, the premier said Pakistan has the moral and legal right to send back illegally residing foreigners to their homeland.
“Illegal immigrants play a major role in spreading insecurity in Pakistan. The government’s recent actions are neither unexpected nor surprising, caretaker prime minister,” he said in a policy statement during the presser.
PM Kakar added that 1.4 million Afghan refugees are registered under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan in addition to those residing illegally.
He reiterated that both Pakistan and Afghanistan have a close relationship of neighbourliness, religion and brotherhood and that the unprecedented demonstration of brotherhood with Afghanistan in the last four decades is a practical example of this relationship.
“Whenever there was a difficult time for Afghanistan, Pakistan gave full assistance to Afghanistan and shared its pain. Pakistan welcomed four million Afghan citizens with open hearts in 44 years,” he added.
He maintained that Pakistan supported the Afghan brothers despite limited resources.
“The limited and meagre assistance of international organisations is not even ten-tenth of the support given to Pakistan over four decades,” he stated.
PM Kakar reiterated that the repatriation decision was a result of the state’s fears related to the increasing terrorism in the country with activities being carried out using Afghan soil, as well as terrorists belonging to Afghanistan.
“After the interim government in Afghanistan in August 2021, there was strong hope for lasting peace. Pakistan expected that the Afghan government would take strict action against the anti-Pakistan groups, especially the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)” he said.
However, he added, after the establishment of the interim Afghan government, the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan increased by 60% and suicide attacks increased by 500%.
In the last two years, the lives of 2,067 innocent citizens were lost in bloodshed, he said.
“TTP terrorists are responsible for taking the lives of innocent citizens and bloodshed in Pakistan. They are using the Afghan territory to carry out cowardly attacks on Pakistan’s territory,” he reiterated.
The premier said 15 Afghan citizens were also involved in suicide attacks During this period, while 64 died fighting with Pakistan's law enforcement agencies.
“Every 15 days since February 2023, Pakistan has been informing the Afghan interim government about the situation,” he said, adding that no action by them was taken to resolve the issue.
The Afghan interim government was also given a list of Pakistan's most wanted terrorists in Afghanistan, he said, adding that no action has been taken against the anti-Pakistan terrorists.
“Instead of taking any concrete steps, the Afghan government has repeatedly advised Pakistan to focus on its own internal situation. After this behaviour and non-cooperation of the Afghan government, Pakistan decided to correct its internal affairs under your help,” PM Kakar insisted.
The prime minister regretted the “unnecessary and irresponsible” threatening statements of some Afghan leaders, stating that they are “spoiling the atmosphere”.
“After the statements of the Afghan leaders, the extraordinary increase in the recent incidents of terrorism is meaningful and confirms the state’s concerns.
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