December 17, 2022
2 mins read

Pakistan won’t tolerate cross-border terrorism: Bilawal

In his address, the Foreign Minister said 132 children and eight teachers and staff at the school had died in that attack and several others were injured…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned of “direct action” against cross-border terrorism by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or other militant groups,.

The Minister made the remarks while addressing an event to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar held at the UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, Geo News reported.

“Pakistan will not tolerate such cross-border terrorism by the TTP or other terrorist groups, like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which are also receiving financial and other support from hostile quarters. We reserve the right to take direct action against them,” he said.

On Thursday, at least one person was killed while more than a dozen others sustained injuries from across the Afghan border firing. The incident occurred four days after at least seven people lost their lives and 16 others got injured in Chaman after Afghan forces resorted to unprovoked shelling.

Hosted by Pakistan, the event was held as part of the UN’s Office of Counter Terrorism’s “Remembrance of the Victims of Terrorism” campaign.

Started with one-minute silence, the commemorative event brought together the UN member states, victims, experts, academics, civil society organisations and representatives of law enforcement agencies.

In his address, the Foreign Minister said 132 children and eight teachers and staff at the school had died in that attack and several others were injured.

The attack was claimed by the so-called TTP, an entity listed as a terrorist organisation by the Security Council and many Member states, he added.

“This terrorist attack was particularly heinous because the clear aim of the terrorists was to kill children. In this sense, it was a targeted attack designed to deal a grievous blow to the morale of the people of Pakistan,” Bilawal said.

He told the gathering that instead, the shock of the APS massacre mobilised the Pakistani nation and motivated it to eliminate all
terrorists from their soil as massive military operations were undertaken to cleanse the frontiers of the TTP and associated terrorist groups, Geo News reported.

“Pakistan’s operations were successful. Our territory was cleared of terrorists. We paid a heavy price — 80,000 civilians and soldiers killed or injured and the economy set back by $120 billion,” he remarked.

However, Bilawal said unfortunately the TTP and some other terrorist groups found “safe havens” and even more frequent attacks have been conducted against Pakistan’s military and civilian targets.

He said the brutal nature of the TTP, and its callous targeting of children in the APS attack, and other crimes should also reinforce the world community’s determination to combat and defeat the TTP, along with other terrorist organisations, like IS-K, operating in Afghanistan, Geo News reported.

He told the participants that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies had “solid proof” of financial and organisational support and direction provided to the TTP.

“We have shared a comprehensive dossier with the Secretary-General and the Security Council containing concrete evidence of such external support to the TTP and other terrorist groups operating against Pakistan.”

ALSO READ: Taliban Challenge Pak Masters As Clashes Erupt On Afghanistan-Pakistan Border

Previous Story

Najam Sethi likely to return as Pak cricket board chief

Next Story

Ex-DG ISI Faiz Hameed rules out foray into politics

Latest from -Top News

Pakistan Slams IWT Move as ‘Act of War’

Islamabad also said that India’s decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) will be considered as an “act of war”…reports Asian Lite News The high-level emergency meeting of Pakistan’s National Security

Modi: We’ll Hunt Them Down

The Prime Minister thanked nations that extended support to India in the aftermath of the terror attack…reports Asian Lite News In his first address after the horrific terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu

Moscow Steps Up Afghan Diplomacy

Russia sees a potential economic partner in the Taliban authorities, who praised Moscow for scrapping the “terrorism” label last week…reports Asian Lite News Russia has announced that it will elevate the Afghan

World leaders condemn Kashmir terror attack 

Strong messages of condemnation of the terror attack came from leaders in different parts of the world including the US, Russia, UAE, Israel, Singapore, France, Sri Lanka and Iran  World leaders strongly

India downgrades ties with Pakistan 

The decision — which also included the downgrading of diplomatic ties with Pakistan — came after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by the PM   India on
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Pak-Taliban relationship in limbo 

Taliban initially tried to broker a peace deal between Pakistan

Women’s World Cup: Pakistan, Bangladesh look to open accounts

For Bangladesh, much is expected of their captain Nigar Sultana