FO 'clarifies' Tillerson's remarks

The Foreign Office on Thursday insisted that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's statement with regard to 'the US concern about the future of Pakistan's government' was in the context of the threat of terrorism in the region, dispelling the impression of any civil-military rift in the country.
"His [Tillerson] statement about the future of Pakistani government was in the context of the situation and the threat of terrorism in the region," Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said, while responding to media queries in his weekly briefing. He said that Secretary Tillerson said the US finds Pakistan a reliable partner, and it would like to have a co-operative relationship with Pakistan.
He further insisted the threat of terrorism is emanating from the ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan. "Secretary Tillerson conveyed that US policy focus is on Afghanistan and the region and that they see Pakistan's role as crucial in the context," he added. However, after having a meeting with the Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Secretary Tillerson told the media persons in Washington, "We have concern regarding the future of Pakistan's government too, in terms of them - we want their government to be stable. We want it to be peaceful. And many of the same issues they're struggling with inside of Pakistan are our issues."
About the foreign minister's visit to the US, Zakaria said the visit is taking place in the wake of the meeting between the Prime Minister and the US Vice President in New York, where the US side had indicated the desire for a broad-based engagement with Pakistan. He said that in the meeting between Asif and Tillerson, both the sides reviewed bilateral relations as well as regional security situation including Afghanistan. "The foreign minister effectively presented Pakistan's perspective on the US strategy on Afghanistan and South Asia," he added.
He said that the foreign minister will be meeting the US National Security Adviser General McMaster, adding the visit is of high significance as it will pave way for better understanding and co-operation between the two countries. Commenting on Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford's allegations that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has connection with terror groups, he said that Pakistan has time and again rejected these allegations, adding the country has done enough to erase the footprints of terrorism from its soil through indiscriminate counterterrorism operations against all terrorist outfits.
"Our counterterrorism operations were without any discrimination and we have successfully erased the footprints of terrorists from our soil. There are no safe havens in Pakistan," he insisted, adding the 'sanctuaries' people talk about are located in the ungoverned spaces of Afghanistan. In the wake of US President Trump's policy review on Afghanistan and South Asia, he stated that Pakistan, at the highest level, has clearly underlined that Pakistan should not be made a scapegoat for failures in Afghanistan.
He said the US General mentioned about 'sanctuaries' in the historical context. He also recalled the former US Secretary of States Clinton's statement before a Congressional hearing in 2009, in which she said: "The people [Taliban] we are fighting today, we (the US) funded 20 years ago, to beat the Soviet Union." To another query, he said that India over the years has played the role of spoiler in Afghanistan. Under the garb of development assistance, he stated, India has used the Afghan soil to carry out subversive activities inside Pakistan. "RAW has developed a clandestine nexus with terrorist groups based in Afghanistan, like TTP, JuA, ETIM, etc. These groups are being used to foment unrest and orchestrate terrorist attacks in Pakistan and other regional countries," he said, adding Pakistan has shared evidence with the US, the UN chief and also with the Afghan authorities.
He said that Indian-sponsored terrorist groups in Afghanistan and their directed terrorist activities inside Pakistan are no secret, adding there are many proofs of Indian use of Afghan soil against Pakistan and people from India are on record to have admitted that TTP, JuA and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan are Indian assets, which they use to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan. India would never sever its ties with these terrorists, he added. Referring to Commander Kulbhushan Jhadav's activities, he said the arrested RAW agent has confessed before the judicial authorities that his purpose was to create instability in Pakistan and sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
On the situation in IoK, he said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, OIC IPHRC, OIC Contact Group on Kashmir, parliamentarians of many countries and human rights defenders have demanded sending an independent fact-finding mission to IoK, but India remains defiant.
He said that the High Commissioner for Human Rights has reiterated his dismay and concern over the grave human rights situation in Kashmir in his recent oral report to the Human Rights Council. He has again expressed the desire to monitor the worrying developments in Indian Occupied Kashmir, he added. "India is an occupation force in Jammu and Kashmir. It continues to deny access not only to international observers but also to humanitarian workers," he said.
He further said that baseless Indian allegations are regrettable, especially when Indian ceasefire violations on the LoC and Working Boundary have resulted in the martyrdom of many civilians, including children and women, and injuries to scores of others, including women and children. "Pakistani troops would never resort to unprovoked firing at the LoC," he said, adding that India is committing heinous crimes in the IoK.