Massacre of people in mosque neither happens in India nor in Israel: Defence Minister
\n Islamabad
\nCondemning the disastrous suicide bombing inside a Peshawar mosque, which claimed at least 100 lives and injured over 220 people, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stressed the need for national consensus just like the one reached for operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorism across the country.
\nSpeaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, he said the tragedy of the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar \u2014 which occurred on 16th December 2014 claiming the lives of about 150 innocent students, teachers and non-teaching staff of the school \u2014 had not been forgotten yet as another incident of terrorism happened in the country.
\n\u201cA successful war was fought against terrorism from 2010 to 2017,\u201d the federal minister said, adding that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led government, which was ruling the country, eliminated the menace of terrorism.
\n\u201cSeveral APS-like incidents occurred in KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa],\u201d Asif said, adding that the terrorism devoured numerous precious lives.
\nRefereeing the banned terror organisations, the defence minister said that the house (lower house of parliament) was told around two years ago that \u201cthese people\u201d could be negotiated but any conclusive decision could not be made on the matter. He came down hard on Imran Khan-led government for its instance of dialogue with the proscribed outfits.
\nStressing the need for national unity, the minister said that \u201cwe sowed the seeds of terrorism ourselves\u201d.
\nNSC to decide action against terrorism
\nEmphasizing the need for developing national consensus for launching an anti-terror operation like Zarb-e-Azb \u2014 launched on June 15 in 2014 following a brazen attack on Karachi airport \u2014 the minister said that National Security Committee (NSC) would decide about the action against the terrorist organisations.
\nHe added that yesterday\u2019s Peshawar massacre was no less than the APS tragedy. \u201cMassacre of people in the mosque neither happens in India nor in Israel,\u201d he further said.
\n\u201cWe need to put our house in order,\u201d the federal minister said, adding, \u201cIt is not the war of any sect or class but the whole nation.\u201d
\n\u2018Pakistan is alone in the war against terrorism\u2019
\n\u201cOur desire to be an instrument of superpowers is very old. Pakistan is alone in the war against terrorism,\u201d the defence minister said.
\nAsif said while he is supportive of good relations with the United States, Pakistan shouldn\u2019t fight the war at Washington\u2019s behest and in its interest.
\nCommenting on Afghanistan\u2019s situation, he expressed the desire for the country to improve and stay peaceful, as \u201cit will also reflect in Pakistan\u201d.
\nHe added, \u201cWe want the betterment of Afghanistan. Peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan are interlinked.\u201d
\nFollowing the Afghan war, the minister said, the Afghans who came to Pakistan and never left. \u201c450,000 Afghans came to Pakistan in the last four years and did not return [to Afghanistan].\u201d
\nAt the same time, he added: \u201cI can\u2019t say how many of them are terrorists.\u201d
\nLamenting the state of security, he said the country has been witnessing bloodshed for the last several years.
\n\u201cThese people were brought back to Pakistan and settled here,\u201d Asif said censuring the return of militancy in the country.
\nAccording to the defence minister, dollars were laundered to Afghanistan despite the shortage in Pakistan. \u201cWe bought coal from Afghanistan in Pakistani rupee and in return, they bought dollars and laundered it to Afghanistan.\u201d
\nPeshawar attack is \u2018against Pakistan\u2019
\nInterior Minister Rana Sanaullah, while briefing the lower house of parliament regarding the Peshawar attack, said that the rescue operation had been completed and all the debris from the site had been lifted.
\nHe added that the Khorasani group of Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the brutal suicide attack.
\nHe further said that 27 of the injured are critical, which means the death toll is expected to rise beyond the current 100.
\nCondemning the attack, he said, \u201cThis attack is against Pakistan and its 22 crore people.\u201d
\n\u2018No division between Lahore and Peshawar\u2019
\nReacting to the comments of dissident PTI lawmaker Noor Alam Khan \u2014 who accused the forces of prejudice against the Pakhtoons \u2014 the security czar said that he understood and \u201csurrendered\u201d to the feelings of his fellow parliamentarian but \u201crejected\u201d the accusations of prejudice levelled by him.
\n\u201cThere is no discrimination between Lahore and Peshawar,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cAll of Pakistan has been victimised and every Pakistani is in mourning over the [Peshawar mosque] attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acknowledging that there had been an uptick in the number of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), he said: \u201cThe KP police, army, FC and law enforcement agencies have been sacrificing their lives every day. Recently a police station in Bannu was made hostage.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, he added, the perpetrators of \u201cthese attacks are the enemies of Pakistan\u201d.<\/p>\n
In the past, Sanaullah said, there had been incidents of terrorism in Lahore which had claimed hundreds of lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur investigations have found that in 99% of the incidents, suicide bombers hailed from areas outside of Punjab, he said. \u201cFirst, these attackers are brainwashed and then sent all over the country to incite terror.\u201d<\/p>\n
Must triumph over terrorism
\nReflected that Pakistan should never have helped train the Mujahideen in the past, the interior minister said: \u201cWe prepared them and now they have become terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also apprised parliament that the prime minister, army chief and ISI DG would come to the house to brief parliamentarians and seek their assistance. \u201cWe must triumph in the war against terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state of terror incidents in the country paralleled the situation that existed a decade ago, he added. \u201cOur policy must also be the same as the one we adopted 9 years ago after the APS attack.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Massacre of people in mosque neither happens in India nor in Israel: Defence Minister Islamabad Condemning the disastrous suicide bombing inside a Peshawar mosque, which claimed at least 100 lives and injured over 220 people, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has stressed the need for national consensus just like the one reached for operation Zarb-e-Azb against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-310926","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n