Pakistani minister admits country spent millions on terror outfits
It's a well-known fact that Pakistan breeds terrorism, but the country was left humiliated when its interior minister admitted to the same in an interview. While speaking to a news channel Hum News, Brigadier Ijaz Ahmed Shah revealed that Imran Khan's government has spent millions on terror outfits, like Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), to bring them into the mainstream. Here's more on what he said.
Pakistan lacks 'political will' to eliminate homegrown militants: Shah
The interior minister said that militant organizations exist as Pakistan lacked the "political will" to act against them. Shah also agreed to the fact that Pakistan has facilitated the United States in "training and exporting" jihadis to Afghanistan for fighting. Further, the minister said that the world does not take Pakistan seriously and chooses to listen to India's voice earnestly.
People do not believe us, lamented Shah
"People don't believe us... in the international community. We say they (India) impose curfew and are not giving medicines to people of Jammu and Kashmir. People do not believe us, but they believe them ... People thought we are not a serious nation," he added.
Shah also criticized Imran Khan as well as 'ruling elite'
Shah criticized Khan's government for spending millions on terrorists. He even blamed Khan alongside "ruling elite" for "destroying" the image of the country. When asked about other leaders, he pointed out that "everyone is responsible and the country should do a soul searching." In fact, US President Donald Trump had also asked Pakistan to deal with homegrown terrorism following Pulwama attack.
Earlier, Khan said Pakistan has some 30,000-40,000 terrorists
Notably, on his maiden trip to the US as Pakistan's Prime Minister, Khan stirred a controversy by stating that the country has about 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists, who have fought in either Afghanistan or Kashmir. Khan claimed previous governments hid the truth about these operatives. He was accompanied by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head Lt General Faiz Hameed.
Separately, Shah claimed Pakistan is doing something about terror financing
About FATF, which has put Pakistan on the grey list, Shah said the country has made considerable progress in curbing terror funding. "Even though the world and the opposition parties are criticizing that we are going after everyone, we are going against those who are doing money laundering and terror financing," he added. If Pakistan remains complicit, it can be downgraded to the blacklist.
