Islamabad [Pakistan], August 2 : Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday said that Pakistan has an option under international law to act in "self-defence" against the terrorists hiding in Afghanistan if Taliban fails to act against them, Pakistan-based The News International reported.
Speaking to reporters, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that this should not be the first option for his government. He reminded Afghanistan about the Doha Accord. According to the Doha Accord, the Taliban in writing had assured that terrorist groups will not permitted in Afghanistan and nor will any terrorist attack another country from Afghanistan.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's statement comes in the aftermath of suicide blast in Bajaur which targeted Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers convention. Till date, 54 people have been killed and 200 others have been injured int he blast with some in serious condition still undergoing treatment in hospitals.
On Monday, the terrorist group based in Afghanistan ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. In the past, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been carrying out attacks against Pakistan from inside Afghanistan, The News International reported.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said, "Regarding Pakistan going there [inside Afghanistan] and taking action against these terrorists, we do not want to be forced to do this, but according to international law, we have the right to self-defence."
Speaking on the terrorist attacks in Pakistan carried out by the outlawed TTP and other terrorist groups, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said it was time for Taliban to take action against these terrorists, according to The News International report.
He further said, "If we are repeatedly attacked like this, and there is no appropriate response, we will be forced to do this. But I don’t think it should be amongst the first options for us." He said that Taliban needs to act against TTP and other terrorist groups that were targeting Pakistan.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said, "If they [Afghan government] need any help, then I think Pakistan should be prepared to help them. Our preference will be that we want the officials there, the interim government, to act against them." He said that there has been a quantitative rise in terrorist attacks on Pakistan since Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.
He said, "Statistics show that if you look at our data 500 days before the fall of Kabul, and then compare it with our data 500 days later, you can see that there has been a clear increase,” adding that weapons left in Afghanistan by the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces had fallen into the hands of terrorists.
Earlier, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif after his visit to Kabul had clearly warned the Taliban that Pakistan would strike terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan if they are unable to control terrorists, The News International reported.
He said, "If that is not done, at some point we’ll have to ... resort to some measures, which will definitely — wherever [terrorists] are, their sanctuaries on Afghan soil — we’ll have to hit them." Speaking to the Voice of America, he said, "We’ll have to hit them because we cannot tolerate this situation for long," The News International reported.
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