Pakistan Rejects Allegations of Civilian Casualties in Anti-Terrorism Operations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has also vehemently denied the claims of the Afghan Taliban regime against civilian deaths in the wake of counter-terrorism operations, stressing that Islamabad’s operations were exclusively against the militants.
In a weekly news briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan said claims of civilian casualties made by the Afghan interim government were totally baseless and that disinformation and misleading narratives could not mask the serious terrorist menace of the ongoing terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan.
Here are some highlights of the Foreign Office Weekly Briefing and the Foreign Office Spokesperson’s remarks.Here are some of the key remarks from the Foreign Office Weekly Briefing and the Foreign Office Spokesperson.
Toll of Cross-Border Terrorism: Sajjad Haider Khan pointed out that cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghan soil has already cost the lives of more than 3,500 precious lives of Pakistani citizens and the Taliban regime continues to provide sanctuary to banned organisations like the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). He emphasized that no country can be complacent when its people and security forces are constantly attacked.
About the precision targeting of terrorist hubs, the Foreign Office spokesperson clarified that Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations were targeted at terrorists and their facilitation centers only in the border areas.
Call to Global Community and Right to Self-Defense: Sajjad Haider Khan clearly reiterated that Pakistan has absolute right to take all measures necessary to protect the national security and defend its people, while calling for effective attention and action by the international community to stop Afghan soil from being misused for terrorist activities.