India using Afghan land against Pakistan: Asif

Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that India has outsourced the task of terrorism to those sitting in Afghanistan and is hatching conspiracy and using Afghan land against Pakistan. "India is plotting with the help of Afghanistan against Pakistan and spreading terrorism in this region. India has outsourced the task of terrorism in Pakistan to those sitting in Afghanistan," the minister expressed these views while speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday.
He said that the decision of closing border with Afghanistan is a matter of national security and it should not be politicised. "We want to have proper border management with Afghanistan," he added. "There are 200 operative crossing points and 16 are active points with Afghan boarder; and we were trying to manage them while Afghanistan is resisting against it. It is our right to close Afghan boarder for our protection and national interests. Pakistan has closed the border because the killers of our sons are hiding in Afghanistan. We will remain the boarder closed if Afghanistan continues its same attitude," the minister said.
He said that five soldiers of Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom during the Sunday night cross-border militant attack in Mohmand Agency. He said peace in Pakistan and Afghanistan is inter-linked and it can be ensure through joint efforts. He said, "We can eradicate the menace of terrorism from the region." He added if Afghanistan is willing to eliminate terrorism from its soil then Pakistan will support it in this war".
He said that Pakistan has paid a huge price for fight against terrorism. He added, "We have sacrificed precious lives in the war against terrorism and bore financial loss worth billions of dollars." He said that international community complained about terrorism in North Waziristan Agency and Pakistan has cleared this area through military operation.
Referring to the issue of reported action against Pashtuns in Punjab as raised by the parliamentarians, the defence minister regretted that it is being related to East Pakistan saying the issue should not be politicised. He further said, "It is purely an issue of national security and we should not politicise it. The politics of constituency should not be imposed on the national issue. Our security forces are taking action without any discrimination in Punjab," he added. Khawaja Asif said Pakistan has hosted 3.5 million Afghan refugees during the past 30 years and even now two million Afghans are living in Pakistan.
He said that holding of the mega event of final of Pakistan Super League in Lahore was a message to the terrorists.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah urged the government to call an in-camera joint session of the Parliament to disuse the matters relating to Afghanistan, national security and terrorism in the country. He said, "The minister raised serious issues on the floor of the House and we want to discuss them in the Parliament." He said that India is always against Pakistan, adding India will remain against Pakistan unless the issue of Kashmir is not resolved.
The opposition leader said, "India is using Afghanistan against Pakistan which is very serious and we should sit together and discuss it in an in-camera joint session of the Parliament." He said that secure Afghanistan is in the interests of Pakistan. "Only India is not present in Afghanistan but many countries are there which are hatching conspiracies against Pakistan," he said.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said the opposition does not want political point-scoring, adding it has always supported the government on national issues. "We have always supported the government in national interests whether it is the National Action Plan (NAP) or the 21st Amendment," the PTI leader said.
He said, "According to the US State Department, money laundering of $10 million has been made in a year from Pakistan." About the circular debt, he said that circular debt has been crossed Rs600 billion during the four years of this government. He said that the government should explain the procedure about merger of Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (Pakistan) also staged a token walkout from the National Assembly in protest against the arrest and extrajudicial killings of its workers.
The treasury and opposition member also raised the issue of illegal settlers, Afghan and Pashtuns in Punjab in the House. A total of 19 committee reports were presented in the National Assembly.