Pakistan will hit terrorist hideouts, teach them a lesson: minister

QUETTA: Balochistan Caretaker Minister for Information Jan Achakzai said that if there was no let-up in militant activity from Afghanistan, Pakistan would “go into terrorist hideouts and teach them a lesson”.

Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Achakzai said that Pakistan had been hosting Afghan refugees for the last 40 years. “But in return, instead of discouraging terrorism and terror, it is concerning that they are being given militant hideouts and advanced weaponry.” The minister said that Pakistan had placed its demands in front of the Afghan Taliban and had repeatedly made it clear that it was against all kinds of militancy.

“For us, the crime of terrorists and their facilitators is equal,” he said. “We know how to give a befitting response to terrorism. If, despite repeated advice, this situation does not stop, we will go into terrorist hideouts and teach them a lesson.”He further said: “It is a fact of life that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been provided arms and low-level Afghan commanders are with them.”He said that six terrorists were killed in Zhob on Oct 31, adding that they were Afghans. He claimed that the US Congress had also stated that the Afghan Taliban had handed over arms to the TTP.

“As far as engagement with Kabul is concerned, we have engagement at the Foreign Office level,” he said, adding that Pakistan was also engaging with Afghan authorities with regards to the government’s repatriation plan for illegal immigrants. “But playing a double game with Pakistan in this regard is unfortunate,” he said.Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year. Earlier this month, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar had pinned the recent surge in terrorist attacks on the Taliban government in Afghanistan while also calling it a reaction to the government’s deportation drive.