There are no “safe havens” for terror groups in Pakistan “right now”, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Monday while admitting publicly that it was possibly not the case under previous regimes.
Addressing an international conference marking 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees in the country, he said Pakistan seeks peace in Afghanistan and instability in the war-torn country was not in its interest.
Khan’s assertion on terror safe havens came as the Financial Action Task Force, the global anti-money laundering watchdog, began a crucial meeting in Paris where
Pakistan is trying to wriggle out of being blacklisted for not doing enough to combat terror financing. The US, India and Afghanistan have long accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terror groups like the Taliban, the Haqqani network, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed.
“I can tell you that there are no safe havens here,” Khan said at a conference here, also attended by UN secretary general Antonio Guterres.
“Whatever the situation might have been in the past, right now, I can tell you... there is one thing we want: peace in Afghanistan.” Khan said.
He admitted that it was possible that such safe heavens were operating in the country after 9/11 in the Afghan refugee camps, Pakistani newspaper The News reported.
“How is the government capable of checking how militants operate from the camps,” Khan said, adding that it was not possible because the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan have had a population of over 100,000.