ISLAMABAD: In its first reaction to the joint declaration of BRICS leaders’ summit held in China, Pakistan on Tuesday joined in the concerns shared by the moot leaders about the growing network of terrorist outfits in the region.
The foreign ministry said that Pakistan is concerned about the rise of extremist outfits like Daesh in Afghanistan.
Responding to a question regarding the BRICS’ leader’s summit document, Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan is also seriously concerned about the threat posed by terrorism and extremism in the South Asian region.
Interestingly, however, the spokesperson did not object to the mention of Jaish-e-Mohammad in the joint communiqué.
“Many terrorist groups based in the region including Afghanistan, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its associates like Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), have been responsible for extreme acts of violence against Pakistani people,” the spokesman said.
“We are deeply concerned at the presence of groups like Daesh, East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) in the ungoverned spaces of Afghanistan, as they pose a threat to peace and security in the region,” he said. Pakistan also remains concerned at the rise of extremist ideologies and intolerance in the region, which encourage social stratification and systematic targeting of minorities, he concluded.
