ISLAMABAD: The National Security Committee Thursday demanded an immediate US military effort to eliminatesanctuaries harbouring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil and rejected the notion that India could be the net security provider in the South Asia region.

The committee while rejecting specific allegations and insinuations against Pakistan by US President Donald Trump, said the country had an abiding interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“Scapegoat[ing] Pakistan will not help in stabilizing Afghanistan,” a strong statement issued at the end of the meeting said. The meeting of the National Security Committee, chaired byPrime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi here at the PM Office, after athreadbare discussion on the Trump Administration’s South AsiaStrategy categorically stated that “the Afghan war cannot be foughtin Pakistan.”

The statement issued at the end of the marathon session attended by the Services Chiefs and senior cabinet members, said:

“More specifically, we would like to see effective and immediateUS military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harbouring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil, including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan.”

The NSC pointed out that being immediate neighbour, Pakistanhad an abiding interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan. The committee categorically said: “India cannot be a netsecurity provider in the South Asia region when it has conflictual relationships with all its neighbours and is pursuing a policy of destabilizing Pakistan from the east and the west.”

It expressed deep concern at “Indian policies inimical to peace in the region, including interference in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries and using terrorism as an instrument ofstate policy.”

The NSC condemned state inflicted repression on the people ofIndian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan’scontinued diplomatic, political and moral support for their struggle for self-determination.

“The committee reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to protect itssovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The NSC, the country’s highest civil-military forum, observedthat Pakistan had to manage the blowback of a protracted conflictin Afghanistan that resulted in deluge of refugees, flow of drugs and arms, and more recently in the shape of terrorist safe havens in eastern Afghanistan from where anti-Pakistan terrorist groupscontinue to operate and launch attacks inside Pakistan.

“The fact remains that the complex issues and internal dynamics inside Afghanistan pose a grave challenge not only to Pakistan but to the broader region and the international community.”

While noting the US commitment to continue to shoulder theburden of Afghanistan and reverse the expanding ungoverned spaces inthe country, the committee observed that Pakistan had consistentlysupported all international efforts for a stable and peacefulAfghanistan and had also committed more than a billion US dollarsfor infrastructure and social development in that country.

Over the years, the statement said, Pakistan had worked withboth the United States and Afghanistan to promote peace through apolitically negotiated outcome which, in Pakistan’s view, remainedthe best option to bring stability to the war torn country.

“A prolonged military campaign in Afghanistan has resulted indestruction and killing of hundreds of thousands of Afghan civilians,” the NSC noted and pointed out that Pakistan had also endorsed and supported all Afghan-owned and Afghan-led initiativesfor peace.

“It is Pakistan’s expectation that any strategy adopted to stabilize Afghanistan will succeed to end this protracted conflict and usher in an era of peace in the country paving way for thedignified return of millions of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan for which we are willing to extend all possiblecooperation.”

The National Security Committee said on its own part, Pakistanhad taken indiscriminate actions against all terrorist networks andsacrificed tens of thousands of troops and civilians in that fight.The demonstrated security improvement inside Pakistan, it said, would not have been possible without eliminating all terrorist hideouts. Moreover, successful cooperation with the US in the pastagainst the common enemy, terrorism, reflected Pakistan’s unflinching commitment to eliminate this menace, the committee added.

Referring to Donald Trump’s assertion of payment of billions of dollars to Pakistan over the years, the committee said instead of any financial or material assistance, there should be understanding and recognition of Pakistan’s efforts, contributions and sacrifice of thousands of Pakistanis and over 120 billion US dollars ofeconomic losses.

“We consider the lives of the citizens of other countries as sacrosanct as those of our own and, therefore, Pakistan is committed to not allowing its soil to be used for violence against any othercountry. We expect the same from our neighbours.”

The NSC said the claims of billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan were misleading to the extent that the reimbursements to Pakistan since 2001 only accounted for part of the cost of ground facilities and air corridors used by the United States for itsoperations in Afghanistan, rather than any financial aid or assistance.

“Pakistan’s effective counter-terrorism operations have clearly proved that tide of terrorism can be reversed and we arewilling to share our experience with both the US and Afghanistan.”

This would require working together and focusing on core issues of eliminating safe havens inside Afghanistan, border management, return of refugees and reinvigorating the peace process for a political settlement in Afghanistan, it added.

The committee underscored that as a responsible nuclearweapon state, Pakistan had in place a robust and credible commandand control system which had been universally recognized andappreciated.

“Pakistan will continue to extend all possible cooperation tothe international community for achieving the common objectives ofpeace and stability in Afghanistan and in the broader region.”

The NSC meeting was attended by Foreign Minister KhawajaMuhammad Asif, Defence Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir, InteriorMinister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of theArmy Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Air Chief Air Marshal SohailAman and Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah, besides National SecurityAdvisor Nasser Khan Janjua and Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua.