A day after accepting presence of terror groups in
Pakistan, its Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has now said that his country's
needs a "new but correct direction in foreign policy narrative aimed at
bridging the gap in the perception of Pakistan and some members of the
international community on the issue of fighting terrorism."
He was speaking after a three day meet of selected
Pakistani envoys from countries like US, India, Russia and China to deliberate
over increasing international criticism for allowing terrorists to use its soil
to perpetrate terror in other countries.
"Asif said a new foreign policy narrative has been
evolved and this would be finalized after input by the National Security
Committee and the Parliament", Radio Pakistan reported. The meet was
organized to brainstorm on important foreign policy issues and "had in
depth discussions on the new policy of the United States for South Asia and
Pakistan's relations with neighbouring countries especially India."
US and India prominently figured in the three-day
deliberations, the Radio Pakistan report indicates, "Pakistan's Ambassador
to the United States briefed the participants on the US policy which helped
crystallize many issues. Similarly, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India
also briefed the conference about Pakistan-India relations."
Though the frank admission by Pakistan's Foreign
Minister on presence of terror groups on its soil has come immediately after
the BRICS Declaration which not only named and shamed terrorist groups like
LeT, JeM, Haqqani Network and TTP, operating from inside Pakistan but also
explicitly warned it, without naming it, when it said that it was primarily the
responsibility of countries to prevent and counter terrorism, a course
correction by Pakistan had become unavoidable given the incessant warnings by
the only superpower of the world, the US, which is also a major aid provide to
Pakistan, helping it with over $15 Billion in last five years.
Pakistan finds itself increasingly isolated on the world
stage, especially after being repeatedly criticised for offering a safe haven
to terrorists by US which even today warned it to change its approach towards
terror groups. "We look to the Pakistan government to take decisive action
against militant groups based in Pakistan that are a threat to the region,"
a US States Department spokesperson said.
The US has taken measures including cutting military aid
to Pakistan and is going to curtail its role in Afghanistan while at the same
time is looking for a strategic partnership with India in Afghanistan's
reconstruction process even if Pakistan sees an increased Indian presence in
Afghanistan inimical to its interests. The BRICS Declaration only added to it.
It has created a sense of panic in Pakistan's ruling
establishment. Though they deny it, their contradicting responses confirm it. A
day after the BRICS Declaration, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir
rejected it saying Pakistan had no terror safe havens.
But yesterday, in an interview, Khawaja Asif admitted
presence of terror groups in Pakistan including India centric terror groups LeT
and JeM and went on to say that his country must rein-in terror groups to avoid
international embarrassment and needed a clean break from the country's past.
And today, when he emphasised on the need of new foreign policy narrative for
Pakistan, it came in the backdrop of Pakistani army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa's
assertion that "if Pakistan had not done enough in the war against terror,
then no country in the world had done anything."
©SantoshChaubey