Asif says ‘India-backed’ banned outfits exploiting women, children

SIALKOT: Federal ministers on Sunday strongly condemned the recent coordinated terrorist attacks in Balochistan, saying that India was funding terrorism in Pakistan to undermine the country’s economy.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that India-backed terrorists are now exploiting women and children for their malicious objectives.

Addressing a press conference at his residence in Sialkot, the defence minister said: “Women were used at two locations in yesterday’s attacks.”

He said that the recently failed child suicide bombing attempt in Karachi and the case of a young girl in Pasni were clear evidence that innocent minds are being systematically radicalised.

Talking to journalists, Asif said that the coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out on Saturday at 12 different locations across Balochistan, with a deliberate attempt to cause widespread bloodshed.

He stated that these attacks were aimed at compensating for the losses suffered over the past year by the BLA and its affiliated organisations.

The defence minister said that multiple locations across Balochistan were targeted simultaneously, highlighting the organised nature of the attacks.

He said the incidents pointed to a clear nexus between India and the BLA, describing them as two sides of the same coin and saying that the BLA was operating as an Indian proxy.

The defence czar said that following the major setback faced by India in May last year, such attacks are now being used to deliberately target civilian populations.

He said these actions are intended to destabilise Pakistan at a time when the country, after enduring two years of economic hardship, has begun progressing again by the grace of God.

He added that India and the BLA want to push Pakistan back into economic darkness and undermine its national integrity.

The defence minister said that the intelligence reports and confessional statements from arrested militants clearly indicate that the links of these terrorist activities lead back to India.

He reiterated that the BLA is a globally designated terrorist organisation, banned both nationally and internationally.

The minister said that people facing poverty, unemployment, and economic hardship are being deliberately targeted by extremist networks.

He said suicide attacks were also attempted on the Frontier Corps headquarters in Noshki and Dalbandin, while nearly twelve locations were targeted in total.

Due to timely action by security forces, all attempts were foiled, he added.

He stated that due to Balochistan’s vast geographical area and sparse population, terrorists have sometimes gained temporary advantages, but these will be eliminated in the coming days.

The minister reiterated that the terrorist leadership operating from Afghanistan is exploiting innocent youth for malicious objectives.

He made it clear that Pakistan is fighting a long and decisive war against the BLA and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and there will be no sympathy or leniency for these groups anywhere in the country. Staff Report