LAHORE: Afghanistan is smuggling trained militants through Khost and Kunar provinces and Pakistan will have to reconsider its priorities towards India if it wants to fully control the menace of terrorism.

The assertion came in a press conference by leaders of the Defence Council of Pakistan (Defae Pakistan Council) here on Monday. DCP’s steering committee chairman Liaquat Baloch, flanked by Abdur Rehman Maki, Muhammad Ali Durrani, Qari Yaqoob Sheikh, Ibtasam Elahi Zaheer and Abdul Ghuffar Ropri, addressed the media.

“The Indians are the instigator of terrorism in Pakistan and have to be dealt with if Pakistan wants to contain the menace. The federal and provincial governments will have to be on the same page to stamp the terror out.”

He said delay over Rangers deployment and controversy over army courts showed that the rulers themselves were not serious about dealing with the crisis. “Talk of friendship with India under these circumstances is beyond comprehension,” asserted Baloch.

He said if the ruling janta continued using friendship with India for party politics, it was bound to face resistance from other parties. Similar was the case of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Though it carried national consensus behind it, the PML-N was using it for party politics, making it controversial for no reasons, he said.

“The life of Hafiz Saeed is a tale of struggle for liberation of Kashmir. Arresting him under pressure is a folly. He must be set free immediately and the government must seek apology from the people for putting him behind bars without any valid reasons,” advised Baloch.

The Operation Raddul Fassad was the continuation of Zarb-i-Azb and the council fully supported it. It also asserted that the mosque and madressah (seminary) had no relation with terror.

But at the same time, the government should also see if the secular elite was also being used to create chaos in the country.

Whose purpose would be served by racial profiling of Pakhtuns? This was pushing Afghans to other side of the divide, he wondered and demanded: “The Chief of Army Staff must take notice of the situation.”

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017