ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office has said that the US Secretary of Defence James Mattis will arrive in Pakistan soon.
In his weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said that the US Defence Secretary is expected to visit Pakistan in the next few weeks and the diplomatic channels are working on mutually convenient dates for this visit.
Dr Faisal said that if the United States takes a decisive action against terrorists hiding in Afghanistan only, it would be a welcome development.
“We have been asking the Afghan government and Resolute Support Mission to take action against terrorist sanctuaries hosting groups like TTP, JuA on the Afghan soil, who have been engaged in planning and sponsoring terrorist attacks in Pakistan,” the Spokesperson said.
The Spokesperson said that Pakistan has at multiple occasions shared intelligence with Afghanistan and the US regarding the presence of terrorists along the border with a request to take action and not let Afghan territory be used against Pakistan.
The Foreign Office Spokesperson further said that we have information that the Indian intelligence agency RAW has developed a robust network with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and they are being used for subversive activities in Pakistan.
“We have shared evidence with the Afghan side and expect Afghanistan to take action against these terrorist groups. Afghanistan should not allow its territory to be used by India against Pakistan,” he said.
In reply to a question, Dr Faisal said that we have consistently raised our serious concerns about the increase in cultivation and production of opium in Afghanistan.
“We are especially concerned about the links between narco-trade and terrorism, as narco-trafficking is considered to be one of the major sources of terror financing in Afghanistan,” the Spokesperson said.
The Spokesperson said that the issue of opium cultivation and drug production poses a serious threat to the socio-economic development, security and stability not only of Afghanistan but also in the surrounding region.
Dr Faisal said that the Afghan government needs to take urgent steps for eradication, law enforcement, provision of alternative livelihoods, and public information campaigns to end this menace, consistent with the International Drug Conventions.
In reply to another question about the death sentence awarded to six Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leaders in Bangladesh over their involvement in the freedom struggle during 1971, the Spokesperson said that “Pakistan is deeply concerned over this development.”
“We hope and expect that the government of Bangladesh should uphold its commitment as per the Tripartite Agreement of 1974, wherein it was decided not to proceed with the trials as an act of clemency,” he said.
