Minister Tarar Fazal Chaudhry says terrorism from Afghanistan will be ended

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said on Sunday that Pakistan will end, at all costs, the terrorism that originates in Afghanistan. He was speaking to the media in Islamabad.

He said terrorism and infiltration against Pakistan would not be tolerated in any form. He called on Afghan authorities to dismantle the safe havens of terrorists on their territory and to fulfil their responsibilities in stopping infiltration into Pakistan.

The minister said that if Afghan soil is used for terrorism in Pakistan, responsibility for the consequences would lie with the Afghan interim government. He added that Pakistan reserves the right to take every necessary step and that the armed forces are ready to give a firm response to any aggression.

Chaudhry described the accusations made by Afghan officials against Pakistan as baseless and unacceptable. He said Afghanistan should meet its own responsibilities instead of making allegations.

He said Pakistan had given concrete evidence of infiltration to Afghan authorities, including to Afghan representatives during the talks in Istanbul and Doha. Despite the talks, he said, the Afghan interim government failed to stop infiltration.

The minister said the government and security institutions are committed to ending infiltration completely, and that vigorous measures to stop it from Afghanistan are continuing. If aggression is imposed on Pakistan, he said, a full response will be given.

On Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chaudhry said an emergency was imposed in the province because of a lack of cooperation with security institutions. He added that the provincial administration is cooperating in operations against terrorism.