WASHINGTON: “Pakistan has the right to defend itself from terrorist attacks faced by Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan (TTP),” said the US state department on Tuesday.
The development came after the statement of Rana Sana Ullah, The Interior Minister of Pakistan.
On 29 Dec, he said, “TTP were being operated by Afghanistan, and never dispersed. He emphasized the urgency to hold an All Parties Conference on National Security, as the need of the hour against terrorism.”
The Interior Minister revealed that around 7000 to 10,000 TTP militants accompanied by 25,000 family members are present in the region, this makes the locals who have come back join hands in crimes like extortion and blackmailing, adding that the provincial government failed to curb them.
In a weekly briefing, the Spokesperson of the state department, Ned Price, said, “Pakistani people have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks, adding, “Pakistan itself has the right to defend itself from terrorism.”
“Meanwhile, we continue to call on the Taliban to uphold the very commitment they have made to see that Afghan soil use again as the Launchpad of terrorism for international terrorist attacks,” says Ned Price.
Price said, “These are among the very commitments that the Taliban have been unable or unwilling.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the Meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) and pledged to root out terrorism.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the war against terrorism would be led by federal and provincial governments as per National Action Plan by National Internal Security Policy with people-centric socio-economic development as a priority.
Leave a Reply