Let world match our sacrifices in fight against terrorism: Khawaja Asif

KARACHI: Foreign Minister Khawaja remarked let the world match our sacrifices in the fight against terrorism on Sunday.

In a social media post, Asif wrote “This is how we fight terrorism..we sacrifice our sons to defeat terror & bring peace to our land..Let the world match our sacrifices..”

With the post, he even shared the pictures of Lieutenant Arsalan Alam, who was martyred in a cross-border attack in Khyber Agency on Saturday.

The 22-year-old officer was commanding a post in Rajgal Valley, which borders Afghanistan when it came under fire from the Afghan side. Alam was martyred as a result of the attack. 

Khawaja's controversial remark 

On September 5, Asif has remarked that country needs to put the house in order. 

Asif had said "we need to stop [banned outfits] such as Lashkar-e-Tayyaba from carrying out activities in Pakistan so we can tell orders we have put our house in order."

Nisar lashes out at PM, warns against 'embarrassing Pak internationally'

'Enemy's narrative is strengthened when government officials issue public statements on internal issues,' he said

Moreover, minister remarked: “We need to tell our friends that we have improved our house. We need to bring our house in order to prevent facing embarrassment on the international level,” while speaking at Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath. 

This statement was endorsed by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Speaking to media in London, the Pakistani premier said the foreign minister's statements regarding 'in-house cleaning' were completely true and that he agrees with the point of view that 'our own house needs to be cleaned first'.

However, the statement was severely criticised by former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who said that government officials should refrain from issuing statements that reinforce the enemy's narrative and embarrass Pakistan in front of the international community.

While criticising Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif’s comments, Chaudhry Nisar said ministers should not merely issue statements, but should also find solutions to issues.

He added such ministers put Pakistan in jeopardy by making such statements and let foreign powers mock the country and shed their responsibilities.

The former interior minister said the country should not be made a spectacle for the enemy to take advantage.