Pak for ‘appropriate measures’ after Parrikar’s remarks
29 May 2015 4:17 AM IST
Pakistan on Thursday said Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s remarks that “terrorists have to be neutralised only through terrorists” should be a matter of concern for the region and beyond and warned of taking “appropriate measures” to safeguard its interests.
“The statement of the Indian Defence Minister should be a matter of concern not just to Pakistan but also others in the region and beyond,” Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi <g data-gr-id="92">Khalillulah</g> said at his weekly briefing.
“Let me say that we will take all appropriate measures that are required to protect our national interest,” he said when asked about steps being taken after Parrikar’s statement.
<g data-gr-id="93">Khalillulah</g> said the Indian minister’s statement may also be seen in the backdrop of an earlier statement of even more grave nature made by Ajit Doval in February 2014, days before he was appointed National Security Advisor. However, he did not give details about the statement made by Doval.
“Their statements confirm Pakistan’s apprehensions about India’s involvement in terrorism in Pakistan,” he said.
The spokesperson said that Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif have already responded and Senate’s Defence Committee has also condemned the statement of the Indian leader. He said Pakistan was a victim of terrorism and has suffered more than any other country in the world.
“We have lost more than 60,000 lives of our citizens and suffered economic losses of more than USD 100 billion. Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said. To a question about India allegedly working against the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said Pakistan is aware of it “including propaganda by Indian media”. “However, I wish to reiterate our commitment to the realisation of Pak-China Economic Corridor projects.”
Pakistan hangs eight, including three <g data-gr-id="80">baloch</g> plane hijackers
Three Baloch insurgents, who hijacked a PIA plane in 1998 and tried to take it to India, were among eight prisoners who were executed on Thursday in different jails in Pakistan. The convicts, Shahsawar Baloch, Sabir Rind were executed in Hyderabad jail while Shabbir Rind was hanged in Karachi Central Jail. A court in Hyderabad sentenced them to death on August 20, 1998 and their appeals were later turned by the higher courts. The three men were members of the left-wing Baloch Students' Organisation (BSO) and were demanding more resources, such as gas and electricity, for their region.
Pak court clears Sharif, kin in second corruption case
A court in Pakistan on Thursday cleared PM Nawaz Sharif and his close family members in an old corruption case, a week after a separate 24-year-old graft case against him was dismissed. The anti-corruption court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi issued the verdict in Ittefaq Foundry case which was registered in 2001, reported Geo TV. Judge Sohail Nasir rejected the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) request to reopen <g data-gr-id="84">investigation</g> into the case.
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