NEW YORK – Soon after former Interior Minister assailed his own party’s government for remaining silent on US drone attack, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistan cannot accept any attack in its territory.
He stated this while talking to media at a session of Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting.
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Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are as safe as houses, adding that they have been developed for defense of the country. Pakistan had short-range nuclear weapons to counter “Cold Start” doctrine being followed by Indian army, he said, adding the country does not have fielded tactical nuclear weapons.
Talking about the Pakistan-USA relations, he said: “The relationship with the U.S. is 70 years old and it cannot be defined by Afghanistan alone”.
Intending to remain engaged with the US, he said that Pakistan wanted to work with the US in order to curb terror in the region, and establish peace in Afghanistan.
Abbasi said that nobody wanted peace more in Afghanistan than Pakistan, besides reiterating that war is not a solution for the Afghan conflict. He asserted that there is only Afghan-led negotiated solution for defeating terrorism on its soil.
Rubbishing the claims of presence of terrorists, the prime minister said there are not safe havens of terrorists as all sanctuaries have been destroyed.
He claimed that any cross-border incursion, if it happens, is carried out from Afghanistan into Pakistan to target the security forces. He further highlighted that Pakistan was making its border management more effective to control cross-border infiltration.
Pakistan suffered huge economic losses worth $120 billion because of war on terror, he said, adding that Pakistan was fighting the terrorism with its own resources while rejecting the impression of foreign aid. He clarified that Pakistan does not need any assistance from the US.
The Prime Minister also rejected India claims of providing assistance to North Korea for its nuclear programme.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is set for his maiden speech to the annual session of United Nations General Assembly in New York today.
