Wednesday, 22 December, 2021 I 17 Jamadi-al-Awwal, 1443 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XII No 174 I 12 Pages I Lahore Edition
Imran Khan lInKs decIsIon to joInIng war on terror wIth greed for ‘dollars’ g
PM lauds role of fo, security forces on successful convening of oic suMMit on afghanistan
ISLAMABAD Mian abRaR
P
riMe Minister imran Khan tuesday minced no words to denounce the country’s decision to join the socalled war on terror in afghanistan some 20 years back, saying that the decision was not made in the public interest but for want of ‘dollars’. speaking to officers at the foreign office (fo) after it the successful holding of of the 17th extraordinary session of the organisation of islamic cooperation’s (oic) council of foreign Ministers last sunday, the premier said he was close to decision-makers back when it had to be decided whether Pakistan should join the ‘war on terror’.
“and so, i am well aware of what considerations were behind the decision. unfortunately, the people of Pakistan were not a consideration,” he added. “rather, the considerations were the same as was in the 1980s, when we participated in the afghan jihad,” he said, referring to the soviet-afghan war. terming the war a ‘self-inflicted’ wound for Pakistan, Prime Minister imran went on to say that Pakistan could not blame anyone else for this outcome [of the decision].” “We ourselves are responsible … as we let [others] use us, sacrificed the reputation of our country for aid and made a foreign policy that went against the public interest [and was devised] for money.” Khan, however, congratulated and ap-
coronavIrus In
PaKIstan
preciated the foreign office (fo) for hosting the oic session on afghanistan last week in an admirable manner, and said that the response to the summit showed that Pakistan’s image had improved globally. noting that the fo had organised a summit of such a scale after a long time, the premier commended it and said it was the result of teamwork with a significant contribution from law enforcement agencies. envoys from 57 islamic nations as well as observer delegations had participated in last week’s summit. “the attendance at the summit and the appreciation of Pakistan’s stance [at the moot] reflected that the country’s image had improved,” the premier said, adding that “we have achieved the objective behind hosting the conference.” Prime Minister imran said Muslim countries’ stance on the afghan situation had become a “universal” stance now. “look at statements by europeans, they are standing with us and the un, too, has a clear stance.” Khan also credited his government for the “improvement in Pakistan’s image”. “We faced the biggest financial crunch in Pakistan’s history. i don’t think any other government was handed down such wide fiscal and current account deficits and then there was also the corona[virus pandemic],” he said. “yet, if you compare where Pakistan stands today [globally] to where it stood three years ago, if you conduct a survey, you will see that the country’s image has improved”. on the situation in afghanistan, the premier said, “it is a big atrocity on the human level that a man-made crisis is being created” in the war-torn country.
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Fawad says ‘religious extremist’ parties like TLP, JUI-F will harm Pakistan information Minister fawad chaudhry stated on tuesday that “religious extremist” political parties such as the recently unbanned tehreek-i-labbaik Pakistan (tlP) and the Jamiat ulema-i-islam would ultimately harm the country. he further added that Pti was the only “national party” in the country. chaudhry while speaking to the media after a meeting of the federal cabinet, said that the recently concluded local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not come under discussion. “today was a meeting of a the federal cabinet, not a meeting of the Pti’s core committee. We will talk about this at a meeting for the core committee,” he said when asked about his concerns over the results of the polls. it is pertinent to note that fawad was speaking to media a day after the Pti faced a major upset in the first phase of KP local body polls, while the Jui-f bagged the highest number of mayor/chairman seats.
Pakistan test fires cruise missile with 900 KMs range: ISPR
CONFIRMED CASES:
1,291,737
the minister went on to state that the reason for the ruling party’s failure in the polls was “clear”. “When three to four candidates from the same party contest the polls in the same constituency, then they will [inevitably] lose the election. this is what happened in most of the areas,” he said, adding that the party’s Mnas and MPas were also not happy. “each constituency needs to be managed, and we lost most of the contests due to these management issues,” he said. however, this just proves that the Pti is a national party, he said, adding that the rest were merely “local parties”. “if the Pti did not exist then there would be no national party in the country.” While talking about the Juif, he said that the party had ruined the education and finance sectors in KP in 2002. “it is unfortunate that, due to our mistakes, such a political party has been noticed [by the people],” he said. newS deSk
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more inside
Commerce ministry finally notifies trade policy 2020-25 STORY ON PAGE 02
LAST UPDATED AT 10:05 AM ON DECEMBER 21, 2021
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
4
270
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
1,253,298 28,882 SINDH:
PUNJAB:
479,481
444,267
KPK:
BALOCHISTAN:
181,023
33,587
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
34,642/10,429
108,308
ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
the military test-fired a homegrown Babur cruise missile on tuesday that has a range of more than 900 kilometres (560 miles), twice the distance of an earlier missile of the same model, an inter-services Public relations (isPr) statement said. the missile’s extended range further enhances the nuclear-armed nation’s military capability. the missile, dubbed the Babur cruise Missile 1B, is domestically developed, said the military statement. an earlier version had a limited capacity to travel just 450 kilometres (280 miles).
according to the agency, strategic Plans division (sPd) director general lt gen nadeem Zaki Manj congratulated the scientists and engineers on achieving excellence in the domain of cruise missile technology. he also expressed his full confidence that this test would further strengthen Pakistan’s strategic deterrence. President arif alvi, Prime Minister imran Khan, Joint chiefs of staff committee chairman gen nadeem raza and services chiefs also congratulated the scientists and engineers on conducting the successful launch, the statement added. the Babur series cruise missiles have better manoeuvrabil-
ity and terrain hugging capability. Because of their capability to make a flight at low altitudes, high manoeuvrability, and preprogrammed flights, cruise missiles are considered important in evading the deployed early warning systems and missile defence systems. Pakistan and india, which also has a nuclear arsenal, have a volatile relationship, having fought three wars against each other. the military buildup of both countries is closely watched by a nervous international community as india and Pakistan have come dangerously close to a fourth war at least twice over the last two decades.
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