Pakistan prime minister’s key advisor Sartaj Aziz has said India is using the Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan.
However, Indian involvement had decreased since the adoption of a joint Pakistan-Afghanistan policy to not let their respective territories be used against each other, Dawn online cited the prime minister’s advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs as saying in an interview Sunday.
Responding to a question on the Kashmir issue, Aziz said that since the formation of the Narendra Modi government, the Indian stance on the matter was non-cooperative.
“The stance of the previous governments in India was subtle, but the Modi-led government said that if Pakistan is to maintain good ties with India, then it should compromise on Kashmir,” he said, adding that India wanted resumption of the bilateral dialogue on its own terms and conditions which was not acceptable to Pakistan.
Aziz said Pakistan still wanted to establish better ties with India, and added that when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came to power following the May 2013 elections, national security and better relations with neighbouring countries were foremost on the government’s agenda.
He admitted that Pakistan’s previously formulated strategies on national security had not been effective.
“To maintain sovereignty and national security, the present government has decided not to interfere in other countries’ internal matters — instead Pakistan looks forward to establishing better relations with others,” he said.
Responding to a question on extremism, Aziz said Pakistan’s policy to tackle the scourge of extremism and militancy was clear, adding that there would be no differentiation between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban.
The advisor said that following the deadly Dec 16 attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School the country’s civil and military leadership were on the same page.
He also said that Afghan forces would carry out operations against extremists operating from Afghan soil.
“There has been a paradigm shift in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s policies, and it has been decided to monitor the movement of extremists along the border and stop their activities,” he said.
Aziz said Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government would be responsible for controlling the situation in their territory. “Pakistan cannot be at peace while there is unrest in Afghanistan,” he maintained.