RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: The Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has said that blaming Pakistan for instability in Afghanistan is unfortunate, and said that Pakistan continues to target all terror outfits without any discrimination.
The remarks came when the Commander Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan General John Nicholson and US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Olson called on the COAS at the army’s general headquarters in Rawalpindi on Friday.
During the meeting, regional Security Situation, with particular reference to border management and peace and stability in Afghanistan in the post-21 May US drone strike environment came under discussion.
Expressing his serious concern on the US drone strike in Balochistan as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty, the COAS highlighted as to how it had impacted the mutual trust and respect and was counterproductive in consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. He said that all efforts for durable peace in the region have to be synergized with shared commitment and responsibility in order to make them successful.
The army chief said that while Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched against terrorists of all hues and sanctuaries of terrorists have been dismantled without discrimination, all stakeholders need to understand Pakistan’s challenges with regard to porous border, inter-tribal linkages and decades-old presence of over three million refugees.
Raising the demand of targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Mullah Fazlullah in their bases in Afghanistan, the army chief reiterated Pakistan’s resolve not to allow hostile intelligence agencies’ efforts, especially India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) of fomenting terrorism.
The COAS reaffirmed the need for continuing harmonized efforts against terrorists and effective border management as ways to regional peace and stability. He further said Pakistan is committed to work for a long term peace process for Afghanistan under the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) framework.
