Expressing his frustration at rising terrorist attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) using Afghan soil, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Saturday that allowing the settlement of Afghan refugees in Pakistan was a grave mistake. “The current situation has raised significant concerns about the facilities provided to the Afghan refugees,” he stated while speaking on the Express News show ‘Center Stage’. “Pakistan has previously suffered the consequences of sheltering and hosting Afghan refugees.” Asif said that the presence of safe havens for terrorists within Afghanistan and their movement has been well known to us. “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. “What have we done in the past four years? Now we must find a solution to the Afghan refugee issue in Pakistan,” he added. The defense minister noted that, in the past, a terrorist involved in a suicide attack had posed as an attendant to a patient. Now Afghan citizens have also become involved in such incidents, which is unacceptable. Asif revealed that during his visit to Kabul with a delegation, he had raised concerns about these terrorist incidents. Also read Defence minister rebukes Afghanistan for violating Doha pact “The Afghan government also presented some proposals to us. Their response was not negative, but unfortunately, these incidents have not stopped in Pakistan. We need to find a swift resolution to this matter because it is not acceptable to us. We have various options available, and Kabul should engage with us to address these issues,” he said. Asif mentioned that there was no sectarian strife in Pakistan, and that it was a “misinterpretation”. However, we have paid a heavy price for this situation, he said. “The world needs to see what is happening with them. We have been cooperating with them for 35 years.” ‘Safe havens’ The comments by the federal minister follow attacks in Balochistan’s Zhob and Sui districts, which claimed the lives of at least 12 security personnel. A day earlier, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir issued a stern warning to the interim Afghan Taliban government over the presence of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) across the border, saying that recent terrorist attacks would elicit effective response from Pakistan. “The Armed Forces of Pakistan have serious concerns on the safe havens and liberty of action available to TTP in Afghanistan,” noted a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). “It is expected that the interim Afghan Government would not allow the use of its soil to perpetrate terror against any country, in the real sense and in line with commitments made in Doha Agreement,” the army chief was quoted as saying. General Munir revealed that Afghan nationals were involved in recent acts of terrorism in Pakistan. Read more Army chief warns Kabul on TTP safe havens “The involvement of Afghan nationals in acts of terrorism in Pakistan is another important concern that needs to be addressed,” the army chief said. “Such attacks are intolerable and would elicit effective response from the Security Forces of Pakistan,” he warned. He further said operations against terrorists would continue unabated and the armed forces shall not rest till the menace of terrorism is rooted out from the country. The army chief’s statement suggested frustration on part of Pakistan due to the lack of cooperation from the Afghan Taliban to tackle the TTP threat. Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban spokesperson in a recent statement claimed the interim government was not allowing its soil to be used against any country and that TTP was a problem for Pakistan to deal with.
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