No terror havens in Pak, says Gen Bajwa

Islamabad, February 18 

Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa has claimed that there are no safe havens for terrorists in his country and asked the US to stop blaming Islamabad for its failure in Afghanistan.

Speaking at the three-day Munich Security Conference, the army chief categorically denied the existence of terrorist sanctuaries on the country’s soil and recalled the steps taken to prevent unauthorised movements across the porous border, the Dawn reported.

Gen Bajwa said Pakistan was being attacked from terrorist hideouts on Afghan soil. He also emphasised the need for repatriation of 2.7 million Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan. 

“We understand their (Kabul's) predicament and therefore we do not blame them, but instability in Afghanistan is also hurting us badly. And it is happening despite the presence of the most powerful alliance in Kabul,” he said.

Pointing to the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State safe havens, he said terrorists had established sanctuaries on the Afghan soil along the border with Pakistan.

Speaking on the operations launched against terrorists, he said that besides kinetic operations, a lot of emphasis had been put on cutting off their financial sources.

Last month, the Trump administration suspended nearly $ 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan accusing the country of not doing enough in the fight against terrorism. However, despite the United States administration’s tough stand against Islamabad, Pakistan has categorically denied the allegations of supporting terrorism. — PTI