Islamabad, Mar 2 (PTI) Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday said that his country was forced to take punitive action against the Afghan Taliban after they refused to act against the militants using their soil against his country.
He was briefing members of the diplomatic corps in Islamabad about Pakistan’s position on regional situations and its ongoing response against what he called the “unprovoked aggression” of the Afghan Taliban regime. He said Pakistan did everything it could for peace and stability in Afghanistan, whether through humanitarian relief assistance, hosting refugees, or providing scholarships to Afghan students.
“Our only demand from Afghanistan was to take action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and other terrorist outfits operating from their soil,” he said.
“Regrettably, despite repeated assurances, the Afghan regime never fulfilled its commitment, and instead, the terrorist attacks with evident involvement of Afghanistan increased manifold across Pakistan,” he said.
Dar said that these attacks even targeted civilians and places of worship, including the one at a Shia mosque, which killed 31 people. “It is in this backdrop and following Afghanistan’s provocative actions on Thursday last, that Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil Haq,” he said.
Dar added that Pakistan was acting in self-defence and exercising maximum restraint in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.
He said the security forces’ response was precise, proportionate and measured based on intelligence, and it is being ensured that no civilian is targeted in these attacks.
Dar also said that Pakistan remains a strong proponent of regional peace and stability, but it will make no compromise on its sovereignty and the safety of its people.
He also asked the international community to condemn the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan.
Talking about the regional situation, Dar said Pakistan supports a peaceful resolution of the conflict. PTI SH ZH
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