In Tehran, Imran Khan confesses terrorists used Pak soil against Iran; faces intense opposition attack

While addressing a joint press conference in Tehran, with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the conclusion of his two-day-end trip, Khan admitted that Iran has suffered from terrorism perpetrated by groups operating in Pakistan.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on April 22, 2019, shows President Hassan Rouhani (R) and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan (L) giving a press conference in the capital Tehran. - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan agreed on April 22, 2019 to set up a joint border "reaction force" to counter terrorism, state television reported. (Photo by - / Iranian Presidency / AFP)

New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday faced vehement attack by opposition for acknowledging that Pakistani soil was used by terrorists to target Iran in the past. While addressing a joint press conference in Tehran, with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the conclusion of his two-day-end trip, Khan admitted that Iran has suffered from terrorism perpetrated by groups operating in Pakistan. Khan said: “I know Iran has suffered from terrorism (perpetrated) by groups operating from Pakistan. We (need to) have trust in each other that both countries will not allow any terrorist activity from their soil. We hope this will build confidence between us". His statement came under heavy criticism at the country’s National Assembly, the Dawn reported. PML-N leader Khurrum Dastigir said Khan’s statement is against the national security as for the first time a prime minister has admitted the use of (the country's) soil for terrorism in Iran." "No prime minister has ever made such a confession on foreign soil," Dastagir was quoted as saying by the Dawn. He added that only a day earlier, "the foreign minister had stated that terrorists had entered from Iran to carry out activities in Balochistan." "Pakistan is exposed internationally by such statements," he said. He expressed concerns as the International Monetary Fund has already linked the bailout package for Islamabad with the findings of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Dastagir said that the prime minister has committed "diplomatic blunders" and "through his statements, he has hurt the national security". He also attacked Khan for his earlier statement that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's re-election could help in moving towards a settlement of Kashmir issue. Pakistan Peoples Party legislator and former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said, "We are worried for the country after seeing it continually become a laughing stock". Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari defended the prime minister, saying his statement was being quoted out of context. On Khan's statement about Japan and Germany sharing borders, for which he was massively trolled, Mazari said that it was "slip of tongue" when he said that Japan and Germany were neighbours and as he wanted to say France and Germany.