WASHINGTON: Pakistan took indiscriminate action against all militant outfits including the Haqqani Network in operation Zarb-e-Azb, said its Ambassador to the United States (US) Jalil Abbas Jilani on Saturday, adding that the allegations against it of patronising militants were ‘unfounded’.
In an interview to Voice of America’s Urdu service, Jalil Abbas Jilani denied allegations against Pakistan of patronizing Haqqani network noting that the Pakistani armed forces wiped out over 4000 terrorists from their soil during operation Zarb-e-Azb. “Pakistan has also been fighting against the proxies dating back to the Cold War era,” he added.
In response to a question pertaining to India, the ambassador said that we don’t want tensions between two nuclear-armed neighbors to escalate, however, Pakistan reserves the right of defending itself in the face of any adventure.
“We are capable of fully responding to any aggression with appropriate force,” he added.
Asked about India’s claims of surgical strikes, Jilani rejected the Indian claims and said that the assertions were far from reality. He said India is calling the incident of firing on Line of Control (LoC) as surgical strikes in order to satisfy its people.
The envoy said we are in constant touch with the White House and US administration regarding the current situation. He appreciated the efforts of the US administration for reducing tension between Pakistan and India.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US said India has violated the charter of SAARC by refusing to attend the meeting in Islamabad. —INP
