Pakistan active partner in war on terror: PM Abbasi

WASHINGTON: In an interview to the New York Times published on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistan was an active partner in the war on terror and has uprooted all sanctuaries used by militants in the rugged region along the border with Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister, who is here to represent Pakistan in the United Nations General Assembly, said that there was a perception in Pakistan that all its efforts against the menace of terrorism had been unappreciated by the United States.

"The general perception in Pakistan was that our efforts were unappreciated, and today, we are being scapegoated," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the NYT. "We are active partners in the war on terror. No less than that."

It may be mentioned here that as reported by US media, the new US policy towards Pakistan and its leaning towards India has generated sentiments of betrayal in the county and the analysts have warned that the new US policy was unlikely to work and would make it difficult for it to achieve its goal of peace in Afghanistan.

The US medias has extensively reported on the new US policy announced by President Trump last month in which he threatened to cut aid to Pakistan while making an oft-repeating allegations that Pakistan harbors terrorists.

Pakistan, which has paid heavy price in the global fight against terrorism has repeatedly stressed that it is targeting all terrorists without discrimination and that the extremist elements were on the run and have found refuge in neighboring Afghanistan.

In the interview to the NYT, Prime Minister Abbasi said that Pakistani military forces had uprooted all the sanctuaries used by terrorists along the border with Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Abbasi said that the Pakistani forces have regained control of the area and there were no sanctuaries anymore. "There are none at all. I can categorically state that," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying.

In the interview, Prime Minister Abbasi also said that Pakistan did not have tactical nuclear weapons. He said that Pakistan have short-range nuclear weapons which were not designed for battlefield use and were under the same command and control safeguards as the rest of the Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, the NYT report said quoting the Prime Minister.