By Muhammad Luqman
“It is time Afghanistan and the US do more for Pakistan,” said Director General of ISPR, the media wing of Pakistan Army,, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Thursday.
Referring to the United States’ (US) demands to act against the alleged presence of terrorist elements in Pakistan, Maj Gen Ghafoor told mediamen that: “No organised infrastructure of any banned organisation is present in Pakistan. We have fought an imposed and imported war twice in Pakistan and now we cannot do any more for anyone.”
“Whatever we are doing, and we will do, is solely for the people of Pakistan. The aid we received (from the US) was reimbursement for the support we gave to the coalition for its fight against Al Qaeda. Had we not supported the US and Afghanistan, they would never have been able to defeat Al Qaeda,” he added.
“There are no facilitators [of terrorist groups] in Pakistan and we have gone a long way towards supporting peace in the region,” Maj Gen Ghafoor insisted, reiterating Pakistan’s stance on the US’s repetitive demand for the country to “do more”.
Discussing measures taken by Pakistan to stop cross-border infiltration of terrorists, Ghafoor said: “We have started the construction of forts and posts on the Afghan border for effective border management — what more does the US and Afghanistan want from us?”
“No country is more interested in Afghan peace than us, as we know that peace there [Afghanistan] means peace in Pakistan,” the DG ISPR stressing, adding that the US needs to check India’s role in the Afghan region.
“No amount of coercion can work — it is only trust-based cooperation that can bring enduring peace to the region,” he said
“What kind of friends are we that we are being given notices [by the US]?” he asked, adding that while Pakistan Army was willing to work with its friends, it cannot compromise on its respect.
Moving on to the Indian army’s recent claims that it infiltrated Pakistan’s borders, Maj Gen Ghafoor said: “India recently claimed that 10 of their soldiers came in Pakistan’s territory and killed Pakistani soldiers. But this is all false propaganda for their domestic audience to take the focus off the effective political struggle they are facing for Kashmir’s freedom.”
“You cannot lure us into such unprofessional undertakings,” the DG ISPR said.
He also thanked all media outlets for not giving in to Indian propaganda and running the “false” story regarding Indian infiltration into Pakistan.
Regarding India’s complaints on Kulbushan Jadhav’s meeting with his mother and wife, Maj Gen Ghafoor said: “India always looks to reduce the relevance of any gestures that Pakistan makes. However, every effort that anti-Pakistan elements make, we will counter.”
“The Foreign Office has given a detailed response [to the Indian accusations]. Even if we do something as a good gesture, the Indian media will colour it in a negative light. We allowed Jadhav to meet his family as a responsible state — if we were irresponsible, we would have given in to Indian pressure and allowed consular access to him,” the DG ISPR said.
He concluded: “This will not impact the case at all.”
