Prime Minister Imran Khan Tuesday Pakistan sees no use for militant groups that it created during the U.S.-backed fight against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
“We will not allow armed militias to operate anymore,’’ he told representatives of international media at his home in Islamabad.
Speaking amidst ongoing tensions with India – which blamed Pulwama attacks on Pakistan-based JeM militant group – as well as renewed international concern over the militant groups’ ability to operate from Pakistani territory, Khan said Islamabad has taken a decision to thwart militant activity in the interest of the country’s future.
“We have decided, for the future of our country — forget the outside pressure — we will not allow armed militias to operate anymore,’’ he said, according to a report in The New York Times.
“The Pakistan Army created them,’’ he said with reference to the 1980s support for Mujahideen in the fight against Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan.
Last month, tensions between Pakistan and India soared to the level of a dangerous military confrontation in the wake of Pulwama attacks in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. Pakistan shot down an Indian plane in Kashmir a day after India carried out an Indian incursion into Pakistan, claiming it targeted the training camp of Jaish e Mohammed (JeM) group, which New Delhi says claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The Western countries including the United States supported the militias, who got training and weapons via Pakistan. Some of the militants later morphed into the Afghan Taliban during the 1990s bloody civil war.
But, the prime minister pointed to a change in Pakistan’s position.
“There is no use for these groups anymore.’’
Pakistan also faced criticism for parts of the country being a refuge for the Afghan Taliban fighting the Afghan government and the U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
