Pakistani minister says faces no challenge with Iran on new anti-terrorism operation

Pakistan's Minister of Defense Khawaja Muhammad Asif says his country has no challenge with Iran regarding the fight against terrorism as Tehran supports Islamabad's new operation to uproot the scourge.

Asif made the remarks in an interview with a Pakistani news channel on Thursday as he was elaborating on Operation Azm-e-Istehkam or Resolve for Stability aimed at effectively dealing with terrorism and extremism, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.

He said Pakistan is determined to uproot terrorism in its southwestern border areas and called for further cooperation of the interim Afghan government in anti-terrorism campaign in border areas.

The problem of terrorism has not been resolved and has adversely affected Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan, the defense chief added.

He noted that Islamabad does not see effective cooperation from its western neighbor as the interim Afghan government refrains from taking necessary steps to deal with terrorism along the common borders.

Over 20 killed in bombing blamed on Daesh in Afghanistan

It was at a specific location where Taliban government staff was lining up to collect their monthly pay slips.

Asif emphasized that the new anti-terrorism operation will focus on targeting those who disrupt security and mastermind terrorist attacks and will be concentrated in the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan that border Afghanistan to destroy the hideouts of terrorists.

The minister expounded that the operation would be slightly different from the previous ones, adding that action would be taken based on classified information.

He maintained that the operation had no political motives.

“Its sole purpose is to counter the recent surge in terrorism, and that is why it should be supported by everyone.”

The new campaign is the latest in a series of military operations that Pakistan has launched with the intent of crushing armed violence, terrorism and extremism since 2007. The new operation is expected to focus on domestic security threats and militants crossing over from Afghanistan.

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