Islamabad: Clarifying his predecessor Nawaz Sharif ‘s recent statement about the Mumbai attacks, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday appealed the opposition members not to put the country’s national security in jeopardy for earning brownie points politically.
“I can say with assurance that no one in Parliament has read the newspaper interview of the former premier of which a furore is being created,” Geo News quoted Abbasi as saying while speaking in Parliament.
Last week, during an interview with the Dawn, Sharif had stated that “Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?”
“We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan’s narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it,” he added.
His remarks were immediately picked up by Indian media, which termed the former prime minister’s statement as a confession of Pakistan’s role in the Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.
It is unacceptable that Nawaz is being branded as a traitor, Abbasi highlighted.
“Party leaders should make statements based on facts,” he noted, mentioning nobody needs a certificate of patriotism from anyone.
Pakistan’s premier even expressed that Nawaz did not say or imply that the Mumbai attackers were sent from Pakistan deliberately. “However, India created that impression by misreporting the interview.”
