No one has to prove they are Muslims: DG ISPR

KARACHI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Thursday said that no one has to prove that they are Muslims. In his address at the Karachi University, the DG ISPR said no one has to prove that they are Muslims as it is an issue between an individual and Almighty Allah. "There is no need to raise slogans that we are Muslims. Prove it with actions," he said.

“Not every terrorist relates himself with fundamentalism. If I’m someone who wants the entire world to view the world through my perspective, then I’ll not be called a fundamentalist but an extremist,” he explained. “If I force others to agree to my ideologies, then I’d be called as the one who is prone to violence or a terrorist,” he added.

Asif Ghafoor stressed that if we adhere to the principles of Islam, the world will recognise Pakistan as an Islamic country. He stressed that Pakistan is one of the most beautiful creations of Almighty Allah. “When someone wants a country’s destruction then it targets the security forces first,” he said.

The DG ISPR termed it fortunate to be able to visit the campus, saying he was surprised to notice the number of women students being relatively higher than men. “It was said that Soviet Union’s arrival in Afghanistan posed a threat to Islam,” Asif Ghafoor said. He said the Soviet Union was ousted with the assistance of the US.

However, he added, the US launched an attack on Afghanistan following the 9/11. “When those fighting the US did not find refuge (in Afghanistan) they entered Pakistan,” he said. “We successfully completed operation Zarb-e-Azb. We systematically cleansed our areas of terrorists and today there are no safe havens of terrorists in the country,” he said.  Asif Ghafoor said fundamentalism even exists in West and India as it has various forms. He said that geographically the global economy is linked with Pakistan.