Allowing Afghan Refugees in Pakistan Was ‘A Grave Mistake’: Khawaja Asif
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Saturday that allowing the settlement of Afghan refugees in Pakistan was a grave mistake in light of the rise in terrorist activities by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) using Afghanistan territory.
“The current situation has raised significant concerns about the facilities provided to the Afghan refugees,” he said while speaking on the Express-News show Center Stage’. “Pakistan has previously suffered the consequences of sheltering and hosting Afghan refugees.”
Asif said that we were aware of the existence of safe havens for terrorists within Afghanistan and their movements.
“The PTI government made serious errors during its tenure, committing crimes against the state. Over 300,000 people have been brought here, with 500,000 Afghan migrants already present,” he said, as Express-News cited.
“What have we done in the past four years? Now we must find a solution to the Afghan refugee issue in Pakistan,” he added.
Asif pointed out that a terrorist who committed a suicide attack in the past pretended to be a patient’s attendant. These incidents are now including Afghan citizens as well, which is unacceptable.
Earlier today morning, he expressed his concerns for disregarding crucial commitments made in the Doha agreement by the Taliban administration, including its commitment to prevent the use of Afghanistan territory for terrorist activities.
On the other hand, the Pakistani army expressed its concerns on Friday, saying that the country has long been perceived as a safe haven for the outlawed TTP members.
“The involvement of Afghan nationals in acts of terrorism in Pakistan is another important concern that needs to be addressed,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
“Such attacks are intolerable and would elicit an effective response from the security forces of Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, Asif urged Taliban authorities to keep their word and prevent exploiting Afghanistan against Pakistan.
This comes after recent deadly attacks in Balochistan in which more than 10 people were killed and several others were injured.
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