In a stinging indictment of Pakistan’s claims of acting against terror groups operating on its soil, the United States on Thursday said that it can not “pick and choose” the terrorist groups it goes after and that it needs to target militants who try to harm its neighbours, taking refuge on its territory.
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Meanwhile, the Mumbai blasts mastermind Hafiz Saeed had opined that the recent agreement between the U.S. and India which facilitates sharing of military bases between the two countries is “against the Muslim world and anti-Pakistan”.
The remarks by deputy spokesperson Mark Toner in his daily press briefing were in response to a question on Saeed’s remarks in the wake of India asking Pakistan to hand him over or do something about these attacks.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed, who orchestrated the November 2008, Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people were killed is based in Pakistan, and yesterday in a seminar said that consensus between New Delhi and Washington D.C.is “frightening”. “As part of that conversation, we made it very clear that Pakistan can not pick and choose which terrorist groups it goes after”, the spokesperson said.
Spokesperson of Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) Nafees Zakaria has said that India is providing financial assistance for promoting terrorism in the country, ARY News reported.
This is a very frightening pact.
“The issue (of Kulbhushan) will be raised because of its direct links with incidents of terrorism in Pakistan”, he said. “The mutual consent of the two nations against the CPEC hints preparation of a terrifying war”, he added.
“India and America are anxious that if the CPEC project succeeded, the entire Muslim World would stand beside Pakistan”.
Pakistan today accused India of “destabilising” it by financing terrorism and supporting militancy, in a fresh rhetoric after Prime Minister Narendra Modi rapped Islamabad for producing and exporting terror. The interest of both has become one, because of CPEC.
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Though the United Nations has declared JuD a terror organisation and individually designated Saeed as a terrorist in December 2008, he continues to live freely in Pakistan.
