ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that a criminal-terror nexus, supported from within Afghanistan, is behind the recent attacks in Balochistan.
Speaking on the floor of the House today, he said the entire leadership of the terrorists is hiding in Afghanistan, from where they are receiving full backing.
The Minister further said the criminal mafia involved in petrol smuggling and the misuse of Afghan Transit Trade is funding the latest wave of unrest in the province. He recalled that the government has cracked down on the smuggling mafia and these elements are now running criminal rackets to recover their losses by fomenting terrorist activities.
He added that this corrupt network was earning around four billion rupees daily from petroleum smuggling from Iran.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif further said that the BLA and other criminal elements are patronising smuggling activities. He stressed that the current unrest has nothing to do with a rights struggle or nationalist politics.
He highlighted that around one trillion rupees were allocated to Balochistan under the Public Sector Development Programme, the largest allocation to any province, but regretted that public funds were misappropriated in the province.
Regarding casualties in recent terrorist attacks across Balochistan, the Defence Minister said that so far 177 terrorists have been killed, while 17 law enforcement personnel and 33 civilians have lost their lives.
