NSA tells India to stop sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf on Saturday categorically said that relations with India could only improve if New Delhi takes concrete steps to reverse the situation on the ground in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and stops sponsoring terrorism against Pakistan.

In an interview to prominent Indian journalist Karan Thapar, Yusuf said that Pakistan was deeply concerned about India’s rogue behaviour, including reports of Indian state-sponsored spying on Pakistani individuals revealed under the recent Pegasus project and the revelation made by Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar that the Modi government had politicised the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) technical process to ensure Pakistan remains in the grey list, despite meeting almost all technical criteria.

In response to a question on whether a window of opportunity remained for Pakistan and India to move forward, the national security adviser said Pakistan hoped that the possibility of moving forward remained if the Indian government realised its mistakes in IIOJK and took the right steps to reverse the situation on the ground before August 5, 2019.

“If India takes such actions and ends terrorism inside Pakistan, both countries can work towards resolving their core issues, which will benefit the common citizens of both countries,” he said, adding that Pakistan was pursuing a policy of geo-economics and wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He said the Pakistani leadership has spent over 15,000 hours in trying to convince all parties in the Afghan conflict to come to the negotiation table and find a negotiated inclusive political settlement in Afghanistan for peace and stability because Pakistan did not want a protracted war in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan was committed to working with all regional countries that wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Yusuf reiterated but also warned that ‘spoilers in Afghanistan’ must desist from their negative actions.

“India has turned Afghanistan into a terrorism hub by sponsoring anti-Pakistan terrorist groups and this was unacceptable for Pakistan,” he added.

The national security adviser laid down Pakistan’s position on Kashmir and said the government and people of Pakistan will remain committed to the Kashmir cause till the Kashmiris are granted their right to self-determination under the UNSC resolutions.

“Pakistan has clearly communicated to India that it must halt demographic change in IIOJK, ensure the protection of Kashmiri identity and give Kashmiris their rights before any dialogue or talks can take place,” Yusuf stressed.

Citing information on RAW’s involvement in Johar Town blast last month, he said, Pakistan had provided a detailed dossier with evidences on Indian involvement in terrorism inside Pakistan.

Yusuf said that the evidence of banking transactions, telephone records and cyber-attacks revealed direct involvement of India.

The NSA also said the Indian intelligence agencies were deliberately targeting CPEC and Chinese interests in Pakistan through their terrorist proxies.

“Pakistan has always stood for peace and Prime Minister Imran Khan has clearly said in Tashkent that Pakistan wants to have a civilised relationship with India as a neighbour, but the Indian government’s RSS inspired Hindutva ideology is a stumbling block,” he added.