Pakistan on Friday said that it would not tolerate cross-border terrorism by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or other terrorist groups and that the country reserved the right to take direct action against them. “Pakistan will not tolerate such cross-border terrorism by the TTP or other terrorist groups, like the BLA, which are also receiving financial and other support from hostile quarters. We reserve the right to take direct action against them,” the foreign minister said addressing an event to commemorate the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar held here at the UN Headquarters. Hosted by Pakistan, the event was held as part of the UN’s Office of Counter Terrorism’s “Remembrance of the Victims of Terrorism” campaign. Started with one-minute silence, the commemorative event brought together the UN member states, victims, experts, academics, civil society organizations and representative of law enforcement agencies. In his address, the foreign minister said 132 children and eight teachers and staff at the School had died in that attack and several others were injured.
The attack was claimed by the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an entity listed as a terrorist organization by the Security Council and many Member States, he added. “This terrorist attack was particularly heinous because the clear aim of the terrorists was to kill children. In this sense, it was a targeted attack designed to deal a grievous blow to the morale of the people of Pakistan.” He told the gathering that instead, the shock of the APS massacre mobilized the Pakistani nation and motivated it to eliminate all terrorists from their soil as massive military operations were undertaken to cleanse the frontiers of the TTP and associated terrorist groups. “Pakistan’s operations were successful. Our territory was cleared of terrorists. We paid a heavy price – 80,000 civilians and soldiers killed or injured and the economy set back by $120 billion,” he remarked. However, Foreign Minister Bilawal said unfortunately the TTP and some other terrorist groups found “safe havens” and even more frequent attacks have been conducted against Pakistan’s military and civilian targets. He said the brutal nature of the TTP, and its callous targeting of children in the APS attack, and other crimes should also reinforce the world community’s determination to combat and defeat the TTP, along with other terrorist organizations, like ISIL-K, operating in Afghanistan. He told the participants that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies had “solid proof” of financial and organizational support and direction provided to the TTP.
“We have shared a comprehensive dossier with the Secretary-General and the Security Council containing concrete evidence of such external support to the TTP and other terrorist groups operating against Pakistan.” The foreign minister said Pakistan had expected that the new authorities in Kabul would be able to convince or constrain the TTP from conducting cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistan as they had promised to do in the Doha Agreement and in subsequent policy declarations. “However, endeavours towards this end appear to have failed. The TTP seems to have been emboldened to declare a “war” against Pakistan. Its attacks have intensified.” He expressed the hope that the remembrance of the APS attack would serve to mobilize the UN’s counter-terrorism machinery to address the threat of terrorism which presently emanated from Afghanistan and adjacent regions in a comprehensive and effective manner. “We need to eliminate the “safe havens” of these terrorists; to cut off the sources of their financing and sponsorship; and to target and hold accountable individuals and entities responsible for the terrorist attacks or for sponsoring and financing such attacks,” he commented and assured Pakistan’s support to the UN and the international community in realizing the said objectives.
