Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk
KABUL: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan said that his country will no longer allow armed militias to operate in his country, saying there is no use for these groups anymore.
“We have decided, for the future of our country — forget the outside pressure — we will not allow armed militias to operate anymore,’’ Khan said speaking to a group of foreign journalist in Islamabad.
“The Pakistan Army created them,’’ he said, referring to the 1980s when Pakistan and the United States backed anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan.
“We should never have allowed them to exist once jihad was over,” Khan said adding “we have total support of the Pakistan army and intelligence services in dismantling them.”
Pakistan is facing financial crisis and heavy pressure to take on militant groups to avoid sanctions from the Financial Action Task Force, a global money laundering and terror finance watchdog. If that happened, Pakistan would face greater difficulties in obtaining the financial bailouts and loans it has sought.
“Everyone now knows that what is happening in Pakistan has never happened (before),” Khan said.
“We can’t afford to be blacklisted,’’ he said.
The premier outlined a push to bring the more than 30,000 madrasas across Pakistan under government control and rehabilitate thousands of former militants.
