Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has taken a strong exception to the mention of Pakistan in a joint statement issued after a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Taking part in debate in the National Assembly here on Friday, he recalled that it was Narendra Modi who oversaw the killings of thousands of Muslims and rape of Muslim women in Gujarat during his tenure as the Chief Minister and in recognition of those atrocities, the US, at that time, had imposed ban on issuing a visa to Narendra Modi. He said that Pakistan today is paying a heavy price for serving as a frontline state in the two Afghan wars.
The Defence Minister said the Indian Prime Minister continues to target the minorities especially the Muslims. There is an undeclared curfew in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the people there are living under restrictions of all sorts in blatant violation of human rights.
He said the Indian government is perpetrating state terrorism in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He said the terrorism entered Pakistan because it acted as an ally of the United States in the war on terrorism. He regretted that the sacrifices of Pakistan were not acknowledged.
The Defence Minister said the elections are due in the country. He said whosoever forms the next government, it should pursue stable relations with the United States and the neighbouring countries. He stressed that Pakistan should leverage on its geographical location.
The minister said Pakistan was still paying the price for becoming part of the US-led war on terror and yet “there is no acknowledgement”, adding that the US-India joint statement was a “basis of dishonour” for the nation. “We sold our people to them and the result of that is the joint communique by President Biden and the Butcher of Gujarat [in which they have] accused Pakistan of terrorism.”
The US and Indian leaders called for action against extremist groups allegedly based in Pakistan, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
“They strongly condemned cross-border terrorism, the use of terrorist proxies and called on Pakistan to take immediate action to ensure that no territory under its control is used for launching terrorist attacks,” the 58-point statement issued by the White House read.
