NEW YORK: Pakistan Foreign Minister has acknowledged that Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, the Haqqanis, and the LeT are “liabilities” for the country. However, it does not have required “assets” to get rid of them. Khawaja Asif said the United States, which has been pressurising Pak to deal with terrorist groups operating from its soil, used to treat them as “darlings” 20 to 30 years back.
“Don't blame us for the Haqqanis and don't blame us for the Hafiz Saeeds,” he said at the Asia Society Forum. “There were the people who were your darlings just 20 to 30 years back. They were being dined and wined in the White House and now you say 'go to hell Pakistanis because you are nurturing these people'.” President Donald Trump had criticised the country last week for its support to terror groups, saying it continues to harbour militants despite receiving billions in US aid. Asif said it was very easy to say that Islamabad was floating the Haqqani network as well as Saeed and his former Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“They are liabilities... I accept that they are liabilities, but give us time to get rid of them because we don't have the assets to match these liabilities and you are increasing them further.” Pak is ready to work with the US for effective management of the Afghan border to stop terrorist infiltration and to facilitate a peace settlement in Afghanistan. “Scapegoating Pakistan for all the Afghan ills is neither fair nor accurate. This will only help forces that we are trying to fight collectively.”
He even addressed the country's sour relations with India. Asif said a new initiative was needed to bring both the countries to the negotiating table. “Peace in the neighbourhood is impossible to achieve unless relations with India improve. Pakistan's reached out to India to seek normalisation of relations and resolution of all disputes through dialogue and engagement, but India did not reciprocate. Pakistan is ready to work with India to seek peaceful resolution of all disputes.”
