Pakistan admits to presence of terrorists in its territory, says need to 'do a lot' to curb them

Pakistan Army on Monday admitted the presence of terrorists and Jihadi elements in its country, saying that there is a need to "do a lot" to curb terrorism.

"We have proscribed violent extremist organisations and Jihadist groups and we have been taking action against them," said Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor at a press conference here on Monday.

Major General Ghafoor said that there is a need to "do a lot" to curb terrorism as Islamabad so far has "suffered losses. We have lost millions of dollar due to terrorism." "There is still a lot to do against terrorism," he added.

He also admitted that previous governments failed to curb terrorism and due to which Pakistan lost its "millions of dollars."

"The state was busy conducting kinetic operations and every law enforcement agency was busy in that. Which is why we were not able to strategise against these (banned) organisations the way we are doing today," Ghafoor said.

Major General Ghafoor also blamed India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for allegedly funding Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), a human rights movement of the Pashtun community against Pakistani security establishments for violating their human rights.

"On the PTM website, they have got a number that states the number of funds they have collected from Pashtuns around the world. But tell us how much money you got from the NDS (Afghan National Directorate of Security) to run your campaign. How much money did RAW give you for the first dharna in Islamabad," he asked.

Major General Ghafoor's remark assumes significance as India has clarified that any talks with Islamabad will be possible only when Pakistan takes concrete actions against terrorists operating from its land.

India has toughened its stand following February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack by Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) on the convoy of CRPF in which 44 jawans were killed.

The two countries were close to having a dangerous confrontation following Balakot airstrikes of February 26, when the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft crossed the Line of Control to attack JeM's training camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Talking about the confusion over the number of IAF pilots captured after India conducted pre-emptive airstrikes deep in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, he said: "Initially, we got information through the proper channel. Then on the ground, I personally found that only one person had been captured and I sent out the correction myself. How is it that you are ready to accept one of our statements, and not the other one?"

In a veiled threat to India, Major General Ghafoor asked New Delhi not test Pakistan's "resolve." "We have not retaliated in the past because we want peace," he said.