Islamabad, January 13: Afghanistan’s soil is being used for “terror activities” in Pakistan and peace cannot be established in the country unless infiltration from across the Afghan border is stopped, Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha said on Tuesday.
Pasha, while briefing the parliamentary committee on national security, said the “drug mafia in Afghanistan” is supporting terrorists who are creating unrest in Pakistan, the Dawn News channel reported.
The ISI chief’s comments came against the backdrop of increasing US pressure on Pakistan to launch an operation against the Taliban in North Waziristan tribal region.
Several groups with close links to the Pakistani security establishment are active in the region. The Pakistan Army has refrained from taking action against these militant factions, reportedly because the security establishment considers them as “assets” who would be useful after US troops pull out of Afghanistan.
Members of the parliamentary committee on national security favoured fencing of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and strictly monitoring movements across the frontier.
They also called for enhancing security along the border.
Senator Raza Rabbani, chairman of the parliamentary committee, told reporters after the meeting that the panel had condemned screening of Pakistani citizens under new security measures introduced by the US and described the move as “violation of international human rights declarations”.
–PTI