Red-faced Pak rejects BRICS declaration on terrorist groups

September 05, 2017 18:38

Under mounting international pressure to act against the terror groups, Pakistan today rejected a declaration by the BRICS nations, including China, saying there was no "safe haven" for terrorists on its soil.

Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations at the BRICS Summit in China's Xiamen yesterday and expressed concern over threat posed by terror groups, including those based in Pakistan.

The 43-page declaration, adopted at the end of the BRICS plenary, expressed "concern" over the security situation in the region and the violence caused by the Taliban, ISIS, al-Qaeda and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiyba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

"We reject the declaration (released by member countries) at the BRICS Summit," Pakistan's Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir said during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defence.

Dastgir claimed that Pakistan has no "safe haven" for terrorists on its soil.

"Pakistan has taken action against all groups on its soil and only the remnants of some are left," he was quoted as saying by the Geo TV.

"Forty per cent of Afghanistan is a safe haven for terrorists," he said, later while talking to the media.

Citing a report by the US Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, Dastagir said of the 407 Afghan districts, only 57 per cent are under their control.

"The foreign minister will consult regional partners and then proceed to the US," he said when asked about Pakistan's plan following US President Donald Trump's recent comments.

Trump, in his first prime-time televised address to announce his Afghanistan and South Asia policy, hit out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to "agents of chaos" that kill Americans in Afghanistan and warned Islamabad that it has "much to lose" by harbouring terrorists.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

India's free style wrestlers miss out on Olympic qualification

Aman Sehrawat missed out on securing a berth for the Paris Games after losing his semi-final at the Asian Olympic Qualifier.

Impact Player rule not ideal for coaches, says Ponting

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting said fans should be able to decide on the future of the Impact Player ruling in IPL.

Newlyweds in wedding attire queue up to vote in J-K's Udhampur

Several newly-wed couples turned up at polling stations in wedding attire to cast their votes in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur constituency which went to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on Friday.

India's forex reserves down after seven-week rise

India's foreign exchange reserves declined in the week that ended on April 12, after having risen for the seventh straight week to hit an all-time high of $648.56 billion. As per the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India...

Shooting: 'Nobody knows who will go for Olympics'

Legendary pistol marksman Jaspal Rana has expressed grave concerns over the delay in naming the Indian shooting contingent for the Paris Olympics.