Hasina says her govt under pressure to sever diplomatic ties with Pakistan

New Delhi: Accusing Pakistan of attempting to interfere in her country's internal affairs, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said her government was under pressure to cut off diplomatic ties with Islamabad for its 'unacceptable' conduct. Calling Pakistan a "defeated force" which won't take the liberation of Bangladesh so well, she said Dhaka decided to pull out of the SAARC summit, which has been postponed due to boycott by majority of members in the grouping, as the atmosphere was not conducive in Pakistan.

Expressing her resolve not to allow any group to use Bangladeshi soil to launch a terror attack against any other nation, Ms Hasina she said her country was no longer an exporter of terrorism, nor it is a silk route for arms smuggling it once was. "Look, I believe that terror should not be allowed to take root in Bangladesh. Whether it is with India, or Myanmar, who we share a border with Since 2008, the steps we have taken, you can see the results. Along our borders there used to be daily incidents of violence, bomb blasts, terror, and we have controlled that," the Prime Minister said in a published interview ahead of her visit to India to attend BRICS-BIMSTEC outreach in Goa on October 15-16.

She said terrorism was a global problem, and her government was trying to take some different steps to fight it. "I am reaching out to teachers in schools and colleges to spread awareness about it. "Next I’m telling parents to watch where their children go, whom they meet. We are asking clerics in mosques and madrassas to teach that Islam is a religion of peace, and ensure that none speak of violence," she said. (UNI)