Pakistan tells US and Afghanistan to do more

Director General of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Thursday said that it is high time that Afghanistan and the US do more for Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference, he referred to the United States demands to act against the ‘presence of terrorist elements in Pakistan’, Maj Ghafoor said, “No organised infrastructure of any banned organisation is present in Pakistan. We have fought an imposed and imported war twice in Pakistan and now we cannot do any more for anyone.”
He added: “Whatever we are doing and we will do is solely for the people of Pakistan. The aid we received (from the US) was reimbursement for the support we gave to the coalition for its fight against Al Qaeda. Had we not supported the US and Afghanistan, they would never have been able to defeat Al Qaeda.”
“There are no facilitators in Pakistan and we have gone a long way to support peace in the region,” Major Ghafoor said, reiterating Pakistan’s stance on the US’s repetitive demand for the country to “do more”.
Discussing the measures taken by Pakistan for the elimination of terrorist elements from the region, Ghafoor said, “We have started the construction of forts and posts on the Afghan border for effective border management — what more does the US and Afghanistan want from us?”
“No country is more interested in Afghan peace than us, as we know that peace there [Afghanistan] means peace in Pakistan,” the DG ISPR said, adding that the US needs to check India’s role in the Afghan region.
“No amount of coercion can work; it is only trust-based cooperation that can bring enduring peace to the region,” he said
“What kind of friends are we that we are being given notices [by the US]?” he said, adding that while the Pakistan Army is willing to work with its friends, it cannot compromise on its respect.
Moving on to the Indian army’s recent claim about infiltrating Pakistan’s borders, Maj Ghafoor said, “India recently claimed that 10 of their soldiers came in Pakistan’s territory and killed Pakistani soldiers. But this is all false propaganda for their domestic audience to take the focus off the effective political struggle they are facing for Kashmir’s freedom.”
“You cannot lure us into such unprofessional undertakings,” DG ISPR said.
He also thanked all media outlets for not giving in to Indian propaganda and running the “false” story regarding Indian infiltration into Pakistan.
Talking about the army’s presence on the borders, DG ISPR said, “We have fought well on western borders despite the threats that linger on the eastern border, but danger has not subsided yet.”
He added: “When we started action in Fata, trouble makers turned to Balochistan.”
“The army took the situation in Balochistan into account and the army chief presented the Khushal Balochistan programme on November 15,” he said while discussing the army’s development projects in the area. He added that the purpose of the programme is to provide resources to help speed up development, provide security, carry out action against terrorism, and cleanse the region of separatist elements.
“As a result of the programme, over 2,000 Baloch nationalists have given up their arms.”
While answering a question regarding Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif’s continuous tirade against the armed forces, Maj Ghafoor said, “We will continue our silence on the matter as the Pakistan armed forces and well aware of the threats and challenges we are facing and our achievements against them, thus we will not be distracted.”
He added: “Political activity is going on in the country and it is for the people to decide for themselves if there is a conspiracy in the country, and if they believe there is one, they should tell us what it is.”
When asked about former president Pervez Musharraf’s recent statements regarding “rogue elements” being responsible for Benazir’s death, Maj Ghafoor said, “I am the spokesperson for the sitting army chief and the media should ask Musharraf to defend his own statements. As of now, I can say that there are no rogue elements within the Pakistan Army at the moment.”