Militants not dangerous to Pakistan should not be targeted: Sartaj

Published November 18, 2014
Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. -File/Reuters
Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz. -File/Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz on Monday said that Pakistan should not target militants who do not threaten the country’s security.

“Why should America’s enemies unnecessarily become our enemies,” Sartaj Aziz said during an interview with BBC Urdu.

"When the United States attacked Afghanistan, all those that were trained and armed were pushed towards us.

“Some of them were dangerous for us and some are not. Why must we make enemies out of them all?,” he said when speaking about the Haqqani Network.

He further said that the Afghan Taliban are Afghanistan’s problem and Haqqani Network is a part of it.

“It’s the job of the Afghan government to negotiate with them...We can try to convince them, however things are not the same as they were in the nineties,” Aziz said.

When speaking about COAS Raheel Sharif’s visit to the United States, the adviser to the PM said that relations between Pakistan and the US are improving.

Opinion

Editorial

More than words
Updated 04 Apr, 2025

More than words

Holistic development can only work when there is organic and credible political activity in the province.
Poor publicity
04 Apr, 2025

Poor publicity

FORTUNE does not seem to be favouring the PTI — at least not yet. With the party’s founder confined from public...
Party pooper
04 Apr, 2025

Party pooper

INDIA’s role of a spoilsport is tiresome. From pulling books from shelves, such as Wendy Doniger’s The Hindus: ...
Canal unrest
Updated 03 Apr, 2025

Canal unrest

With rising water scarcity in Indus system, it is crucial to move towards a consensus-driven policymaking process.
Iran-US tension
03 Apr, 2025

Iran-US tension

THE Trump administration’s threats aimed at Iran do not bode well for global peace, and unless Washington changes...
Flights to history
03 Apr, 2025

Flights to history

MOHENJODARO could have been the forgotten gold we desperately need. Instead, this 5,000-year-old well of antiquity ...