Action taken against all terrorist groups 'without any discrimination', Pakistan

Record ID: 102824

  • Title: Action taken against all terrorist groups 'without any discrimination', Pakistan
  • Date: 19th May 2016
  • Summary: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (MAY 19, 2016) (REUTERS) CAR COMING OUT OF FOREIGN MINISTRY PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NAFEES ZAKARIA ARRIVING FOR WEEKLY BRIEFING REPORTERS NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NAFEES ZAKARIA, SAYING: "Pakistan is doing so much, and its sincerity in this regard cannot be doubted. We have taken action against all terrorist groups without any discrimination. And we have repeatedly said that doubting Pakistan's intention and efforts is not only wrong but also benefits those people who do not want peace in Afghanistan. We have also repeatedly said that all those who issue such statements should refrain from it." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NAFEES ZAKARIA, SAYING: "A joint press release issued after yesterday's meeting was a mutually- agreed, consensus press release which carried an obvious message that we should give peace a chance because there is no other option with us. We have seen the military option. The results of the military action taken there for the past 15 years are visible to all of you; I do not want to go into the details of that. However, I believe that Pakistan is making sincere efforts in this regard." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) PAKISTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN NAFEES ZAKARIA, SAYING: "This is an Afghan-based process and it has to be Afghan-led and Afghan owned. The four countries (members of Quadrilateral Coordination Group) have never said that Afghan government cannot go and talk secretly to them (militant groups). All this is being done specifically for Afghanistan. So if Afghanistan wants to engage its groups, it is a good thing. And we have always welcomed all efforts that can bring peace and harmony to Afghanistan." END OF BRIEFING
  • Embargoed: 3rd June 2016 12:23
  • Keywords: Pakistan Afghanistan terrorist discrimination foreign ministry
  • Location: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
  • City: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0014IH4MKN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Pakistan on Thursday (May 19) regretted a statement by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's deputy spokesperson, Dawa Khan Menapal, in which he said Pakistan needs to honor its commitments to take action against militant groups operating from its soil.
    He said he was referring to the Afghan Taliban and the lethal Haqqani network that Afghanistan says operate out of Pakistan to launch violent attacks in Afghanistan.
    Replying to a question about Menapal's statement, Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, said such comments were not at all helpful for the peace efforts that are in progress.
    "Pakistan is doing so much, and its sincerity in this regard cannot be doubted. We have taken action against all terrorist groups without any discrimination. And we have repeatedly said that doubting Pakistan's intention and efforts is not only wrong but also benefits those people who do not want peace in Afghanistan," Zakaria told a weekly briefing in Islamabad.
    He also said Pakistan was stressing on peace in Afghanistan because everyone realized that a military solution has not worked in the past 15 years.
    A fifth round of four-nation talks aimed at laying the ground for a negotiated end to the Afghan war began in Pakistan on Wednesday, as hopes faded for bringing the Taliban insurgents to the table quickly.
    The Quadrilateral Coordination Group, made up of officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China, have been engaged in efforts to facilitate direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
    Asked about Pakistan's reaction to Afghanistan signing a draft agreement with the Hezb-e-Islami militant group that the government hopes could lead to a full peace accord with one of the most notorious warlords in the insurgency, Zakaria said it was the prerogative of the Afghan government.
    "This is an Afghan-based process and it has to be Afghan-led and Afghan owned. The four countries (members of Quadrilateral Coordination Group) have never said that Afghan government cannot go and talk secretly to them (militant groups). All this is being done specifically for Afghanistan. So if Afghanistan wants to engage its groups, it is a good thing. And we have always welcomed all efforts that can bring peace and harmony to Afghanistan," he said.
    Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a veteran of decades of Afghan war and rights groups have accused his group of widespread abuses, particularly during the civil war of the early 1990s, when he briefly served as prime minister.
    Human rights groups have criticised the move towards a deal with Hekmatyar's group but the pressure on the government for some sign of progress in bringing peace appears to have outweighed the concerns.
    The U.S. State Department included Hekmatyar on its terrorist list in 2003, accusing him of participating in and supporting attacks by al Qaeda and the Taliban.
    His group was most recently blamed for a 2013 attack in Kabul in which two U.S. soldiers and four U.S. civilian contractors as well as eight Afghans were killed.
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