ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif addressed the National Assembly, emphasizing that Pakistan has borne the brunt of the Afghan crisis more than any other country. The staggering toll includes approximately 90,000 casualties, $152 billion in direct losses, and a whopping $450 billion in direct financial impact.
Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif informed the House during the Question Hour on Monday that Pakistan is the only country fighting the onslaught of terrorist organizations based in Afghanistan such as Fitnah-al-Khwarij and Daesh.
In a written reply to a question of Muhammad Jawad Hanif Khan, Defence Minister stated that Pakistan remains the bulwark against terror emanating from Afghanistan. “Currently, we are the only country fighting the onslaught of terrorist organizations based in Afghanistan such as Fitna Al Khawarij and Daesh. He further said no other country has been as affected clue to the Afghan predicament as Pakistan. Recounting details, Asif stated Pakistan suffered approx over 90,000 causalities, $152 bn direct losses, and $ 450bn indirect losses. He stated that the Interim Afghan Government is taking selective actions against terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and East Turkistan Islamic Movement to assuage the security concerns of major powers, while allowing others such as Fitna Al Khawarij to operate with impunity and, in some cases, actively abetting them. Asif stated that the situation in Afghanistan has substantially enhanced the liberty of action for terrorists to strike across the borders coupled with access to sophisticated United States military equipment.
Recounting major response measures in the security domain, the defence minister said over 2,200 km of the Pak-Afghan Border has been fenced. He stated that around 1,300 border forts and posts have been constructed along the border to complement the fence. Besides securing borders, he stated that operations in the rear areas are also being conducted to root out the menace of terrorism. “Main focus remains on intelligence-based operations to neutralise and apprehend terrorists and their facilitators,” he stated. To address issues of the locals in the socio-economic domain, especially in the newly merged districts of KP, a lot of effort and resources have been invested. “Over the last 10 years, other than infrastructure development, the focus has remained on education and health projects,” he stated. He said the efforts are also being made to provide jobs to the locals in their native areas to prevent them from falling prey to Al Khawarij’s nefarious propaganda.
In a reply to a question from Abdul Qadir Patel regarding the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the House that our nuclear power plants are in line with world standards, and no radiation-related disease has ever been reported in KANUPP till date. He said KANUPP is under IAEA safeguards and constant watch of the IAEA, PNRA and Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). He said environmental samples to assess any negative effect on residents, animals and habitat collected by mobile labs every six months from the surrounding areas in line with the parameters defined by IAEA, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority and SEPA for testing at SUPARCO. “The test reports are shared with regulators regularly. “It may be noted that no radiation effects have been reported so far,” he said. He stated that locals are accorded priority in enrollment for Class-IV employees in particular and others in general. “However, owing to the location of KANUPP, nature of the job and low wages as compared to the corporate sector in Karachi, a very bleak response to enrol candidates has been witnessed recently,” he said.
Speaking on the issue of waste management, the defence minister told the House that hospital waste is the most dangerous waste. Old syringes are reused from hospital waste in every city, he said and added most diseases are caused by it, and hospital waste is not disposed of properly. Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar said that waste management is a big issue in developed countries as well. The regular disposal of syringes is very important and called for setting up a special committee to look into the issue.
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