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Today's Paper | May 06, 2024

Updated 15 Nov, 2015 08:36pm

Foreign secretary rules out IS presence in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry on Sunday ruled out the possibility of self-styled terrorist outfit Islamic State’s presence in Pakistan, Radio Pakistan reported.

In an interview, Chaudhry said no one in Pakistan will be allowed to have links with Daesh – Arabic acronym for the Islamic State (IS).

The foreign secretary said Pakistan is fully capable of thwarting all threats from the IS or any other extremist organisation, adding that the country was winning the war against terror with full support of its people.

While Pakistan's official stance on IS's presence in the country has been outright denial, some traces of the militant group's presence have come to the surface in recent times.

Reports of IS activity inside the country emerged in 2014 against the backdrop of two ongoing military operations against the TTP and its affiliates in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency.

First came the seemingly innocuous wall chalkings in favour of the group, largely downplayed by local media and scoffed at by the establishment and the government. Even while state officials claimed IS did not exist locally, rumours – now confirmed by militant sources and local media – emerged that a three-member IS delegation reached Pakistan from Syria, prior to the Dec 16 Taliban attack on Peshawar's Army Public School.

Take a look: From TTP to IS: Pakistan's terror landscape evolves.

‘Pakistan abhors all forms of terror’

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Sunday said Pakistan abhors all manifestations of terrorism and extremism and stands firmly behind the people and the government of France in the wake of the recent terror attacks in Paris.

Addressing a function organised by the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Sadiq said Pakistan, itself a victim of terrorism for over a decade, shared the grief and pain of the French people.

Calling terrorism a common challenge for the modern human civilisation, he said such heinous attacks are not representative of any religion or moral system.

The NA speaker called for joint global efforts to eradicate the evil of terrorism, adding that Pakistan has been bravely combating this menace, having undertaken extraordinary strategic measures.

Sadiq said Pakistan is willing to extend support to the global community in this fight.

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