Islamabad: Pakistan said today that it had killed more than 17,600militants in counter-terrorism operations started after the 9/11 terrorattacks and destroyed their training camps in the restive tribal regionbordering Afghanistan.
Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said at the weekly briefing thatPakistan had also cleared more than 46,000 km of land from terrorists.
“Counter-terrorism operations within Pakistan have cleared 46,378 km ofland and eliminated 17,614 terrorists, ensuring that our soil is not usedagainst any other territory; we expect the same from our neighbours,” hesaid.
US President Donald Trump has asked Pakistan to take “decisive action”against terror groups operating from its soil.
Unveiling his first National Security Strategy (NSS), Trump said Pakistanhas to intensify its counter-terrorism efforts and help in eliminatingterror sanctuaries as America was making “massive payments” to it everyyear.
Faisal said the ongoing counter-terrorism operation Raddul-Fassad which waslaunched by Pakistan military last year eliminated terrorists especiallythose belonging to Tehreek-i-Taiban Afghanistan (TTA) and Haqqani Network(HN).
“Actions against HN include rooting out of terrorist camps in Waziristan,blocking medical assistance to terrorists & breaking their financing &training camps,” he said.
Faisal said Pakistan continued to prevent suspected TTA and HN elementsfrom using its soil for any terrorist activity in Afghanistan.
He said that 27 individuals suspected of belonging to TTA and HN werehanded over to Afghanistan in November 2017.
Faisal also alleged that “tensions and escalation by India at the Easternborder adversely impact our counter-terrorism efforts”.
Pakistan has deployed 202,000 troops for action against militants, thelargest counter-terrorism deployment.
Faisal said effective border management remained one of Pakistan’s primeobjectives in preventing cross-border terrorism.
“Pakistan has 975 border posts to man Pak-Afghan border; Afghanistan has218,” he said.
He said Pakistan was keen to assist the Afghan government whilehighlighting that on the southern side of the border, “a stretch of 648 kmhas no check post on the Afghan side”.
“Large swathes of ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan are leaving a vacuum forsafe havens and terrorist sanctuaries to flourish and launch attacks onPakistan. Incidence of cross- border terrorist attacks from Afghanistan hasincreased since 2016, and peaked to 417 in 2017,” he said.
The spokesman also said that “Pakistan continues to share intelligence withmore than 70 countries” and has lost 75,000 civilians and 6000 soldiers tothe scourge of terrorism.
He said Pakistan had one of the highest officer-to- soldier casualty ratesglobally.
Faisal also said his country had suffered economic losses worth USD 123billions in the war against terrorism.
He also mentioned the recent fatwa jointly issued by 1,829 highly qualifiedreligious scholars, condemning terrorism and declaring it contrary to theteachings of Islam.
“The fatwa outlaws the use of force by individuals or groups to take uparms against the state for the imposition of Sharia. The Fatwa alsoprohibits Pakistani citizens from violating territorial boundaries in thename of helping other armed groups and struggles outside Pakistan, offeringintellectual and practical training and recruitment of terrorists,” hesaid.