The remarks by Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan came days after U.S. President Donald Trump singled out Pakistan for harboring terrorist organizations, including the Taliban and Haqqani network, which destabilize Afghanistan and plot attacks on American troops there. Trump did not outline what actions he might order to pressure Islamabad to move against the alleged terrorist sanctuaries: increasing diplomatic and economic pressure could be one of those. Defense Minister Khan again rejected that there are any terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan. He said Pakistani security forces already have taken action against all terrorist groups and are in the process of eliminating their “remnants” in the country. “We are trying to resolve the issues amicably because any American action would cause instability in Pakistan”, the defense minister warned.
