Days after BRICS nations including China signed a declaration naming Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as global terror outfits, Islamabad admitted for the first time that these terrorist organisations are operating from its soil. Speaking to a media house, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Wednesday admitted the presence of LeT and JeM in the country and calling for tougher action against these groups.
“We should impose restrictions on activities of elements like LeT and JeM so that we can show the global community that we’ve put our house in order,” Khawaja Muhammad Asif was quoted as saying by Geo News. The minister also said Pakistan could no longer afford to “test” its friends like China on the issue of terrorism. “Friends like China should not be tested every time, particularly in the changed (global) scenario,” Asif added.
Despite Pakistan’s Foreign Office and Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir’s rejection of the BRICS declaration, Khwaja Asif said Islamabad should stop denying the existence of terror organisations like LeT and JeM on its soil. The minister said, “I am not making any political statement….We cannot afford to shut our eyes on activities of these organisations in our country. If we continue to do that we will always face such embarrassments.”
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office and Minister Khurram Dastgir rejected the BRICS declaration, blaming Afghanistan for providing ‘safe havens’ to terrorists. “We reject the declaration (released by member countries) at the BRICS Summit,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir said during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence.
Pakistan faced major embarrassment after its ‘all weather ally’ China along with other BRICS nations signed the Xiamen Declaration at the 9th BRICS Summit in which member countries unequivocally condemned terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations and called upon all states to adopt a comprehensive approach in combating the menace, including countering radicalisation, recruitment, and movement of terrorists, including foreign terrorist fighters.
The Xiamen BRICS Declaration explicitly stated, “BRICS express concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, ISIL/DAISH, Al-Qaida and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, TTP and Hizb ut-Tahrir.”
