LAHORE, May 12: For the first time, Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has publicly acknowledged that militant organisations are active in the country and questioned the policy to allow the “non-state actors” to cross the border and “kill” people in Mumbai, a media report said.
Sharif, who has been disqualified to hold public office for life by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case, said Pakistan has isolated itself.
“We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan’s narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it,” Sharif said.
Without naming Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Masood Azhar’s militant organisations — Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Jaish-e-Mohammad, — operating in the country with impunity, Sharif said: “Militant organisations are active in Pakistan.”
“Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill over 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial.”
The Mumbai attacks-related trials are stalled in a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court.
He further said: “It’s absolutely unacceptable (to allow non-state actors to cross the border and commit terrorism there). President (Vladimir) Putin has said it. President Xi (Jinping) has said it.”
While responding to a question on national security, Sharif asked why Pakistan was unable to complete the trail in the case even after nine years.
“Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trail?” he said.
Ten Lakshkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists had sailed into Mumbai from Karachi and carried out coordinated attacks, killing 166 people and injuring over 300 in November 2008.
The case has entered into the 10th year but none of its suspects in Pakistan has been punished yet, showing that the case had never been in the priority list of the country that appears to be keen to put it under the carpet. (PTI)
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