Karachi: Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has acknowledged that Pakistan has harboured terrorist and extremist forces for years, highlighting the country’s militarisation and its difficult history.
Speaking to Sky News in an interview, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader openly acknowledged Islamabad’s role in providing shelter to terrorist groups, while responding to a question about the earlier statements given by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, who had said that Pakistan had been "funding" terrorist groups for years to do the "US’ dirty work".
“As far as what the defence minister said, I don’t think it is a secret that Pakistan has a past. As a result, we have suffered, Pakistan has suffered. We have suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learnt our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem," he said.
The PPP leader’s statements come at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan are at an all time high, following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir, in which 26 tourists were gunned down.
Regarding India’s accusations of Islamabad’s support to the terrorists, Bhutto said: “It would be helpful if India could provide specific, concrete evidence to Pakistan and the international community.”
Earlier, Khwaja Asif had also confirmed Pakistan’s backing of terrorist groups. The minister told Sky News, "We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades and the West, including Britain.
“That was a mistake, and we suffered for that. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record would have been unimpeachable."
Bhutto walked that line, and said that the country has undergone reforms which have led to the military in “successfully combatting these (terrorist) elements”, when asked about Pakistan’s spy agency – the ISI’s-backing of terrorist groups.
