Taliban safe havens are located in Afghanistan: PM Abbasi

NEW YORK (92 News) – Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has on Friday said that Taliban safe havens are located not in Pakistan but in the large tracts of territory controlled by the Taliban in Afghanistan Addressing the 72nd session of UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, he said that some anti-Pakistan terrorists have established safe havens across the border in Afghanistan to carry out attacks in Pakistan.” While calling for promoting negotiations between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban for a peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, he said that peace can be restored in Afghanistan only through a negotiated settlement. The prime minister asked the Afghan government and the Coalition to support and complement Pakistan's ongoing efforts to strengthen border controls and monitor all movement across it. Highlighting Pakistan's sacrifices in war on terror, Abbasi said that Pakistan has paid a heavy price as over 27,000 Pakistanis including 6,500 military and law enforcement personnel have been martyred in the war on terror. “Pakistan suffered economic losses of over 120 billion dollars.” Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi also called for a peaceful and expeditious resolution of the Kashmir dispute. He said that India is unwilling to resume the peace process with Pakistan and the UN Security Council should fulfill its obligation to secure the implementation of its own resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. “The UN Secretary-General to appoint a Special Envoy on Kashmir to help resolve the longstanding issue,” he asked. The premier said that despite over 600 ceasefire violations by India since January this year, Pakistan has acted with restraint, adding that any venture from or acts upon its doctrine of limited war against Pakistan will evoke a strong and matching response. He demanded an international investigation into India's crimes in Kashmir.