President Zardari says Afghan Taliban have created situation ‘similar to or worse than pre-9/11’
President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday issued renewed warnings about the threats to global peace due to “terrorist organisations operating in Afghanistan”, and criticised the Taliban regime’s policies, which he said created conditions “similar to or worse than pre-9/11”.
He made the remarks in a statement thanking world leaders for showing solidarity with Pakistan over the recent attack on an imambargah in Islamabad, which killed 36 people and injured more than 160. The militant group Islamic State (IS) had claimed responsibility for the attack.
In a statement issued by the President’s Secretariat, Zardari reiterated the Pakistani nation’s resolve to combat terrorism and violent ideology.
“Pakistan has long maintained that terrorism cannot be confronted by a single country in isolation,” he was quoted as saying.
Citing Pakistan’s experience, he said in the statement that whenever “terrorist groups are allowed space, facilitation or impunity beyond national borders, the consequences are borne by innocent civilians all over the world.”
Under such a context, he continued, certain neighbouring countries had become partners in crime by allowing terrorist elements to operate against Pakistan from their soil, while some not only finance them directly but also provide them with technical and military means.
“This is a reality that has shaped the regional developments in recent years. Pakistan takes strong exception to the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to or worse than pre-9/11, when terror organisations posed threats to global peace, ending in the 9/11 tragedy,” the statement quoted him as saying.
The Sept 11, 2001, attacks, also known as 9/11, refer to a series of coordinated plane hijackings by the armed Al Qaeda group, which claimed almost 3,000 lives.
Zardari also accused India of “assisting the Taliban regime and threatening not only Pakistan but also the regional and global peace.”
Following Friday’s mosque attack in Islamabad, government officials, including the Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, had also blamed “Indian-backed proxies” for carrying out the attack.
President Zardari appreciated the international community for expressing solidarity with Pakistan in its fight against terrorism.
“Pakistan is humbled by the strong and sincere outpouring of support and solidarity from world leaders, governments and international organisations,” he said in the statement.
“The messages of sympathy and solidarity had brought comfort to the people of Pakistan and strength to the families who mourned.”
Islamabad has reiterated that Afghanistan’s soil has been continuously used by terrorists against Pakistan and urged the Taliban regime to rein in the terror groups’ operations in its land to target civilians and military personnel in Pakistan.
