Pakistan
Those who kill innocent people are terrorists, says Fawad Chaudhry
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has clearly stated that those who kill innocent people are terrorists.
In a tweet, Fawad Chaudhry said, "There is no confusion at any level re anyone who kills innocents."
"That is terrorism and the perpetrators are terrorists. We have suffered pain of terrorism in our own land and can understand pain of all who have lost their loved ones in these cowardly attacks," he said.
Fawad Chaudhry's statement came a day after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi refrained from calling Osama bin Laden a terrorist in an interview with Afghan TV Tolo.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan called Osama bin Laden a martyr,” said TOLO news journalist Lotfullah Najafizada seeking Qureshi’s view about the once most-wanted terrorist in the world.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi initially said Imran Khan was “well, uh, again, out of context and uh, you know, a particular section of the media played it up”
When journalist Lotfullah Najafizada persisted asking, “Is he [Osama bin Laden] a martyr? You disagree [with Imran Khan]? Osama bin Laden?”
He paused and said, “I will let that pass.”
It may be recalled that in his address to Parliament last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan, while talking about relations with the United States had said that Pakistan, despite Washington's help in the war on terror, had suffered a lot of humiliation and then (Pakistan) was also accused of US’s failure in Afghanistan.
“I will never forget how we Pakistanis were embarrassed when the Americans came into Abbottabad and killed Osama Bin Laden, martyred him.”
He recalled the incident, which he described as a "shame" for Pakistan, saying, "The Americans came to Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden, martyred him. What happened after that?" The whole world rebuked us and spoke against us.
The speech was in Urdu. Imran Khan had used the word, “shaheed” while describing the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistani city Abbottabad, where he was hiding for several years.
Shaheed is an Arabic term used for martyrs of Islam.
At the time, the opposition had sharply criticized the Prime Minister's statement.
PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had said that Imran Khan's statement was in line with his history of appreciating violent extremism.
He said that it was during his rule that the accused involved in the attack on Army Public School Peshawar escaped and the suspect involved in the murder of Daniel Pearl got relief.
In addition, PPP leader Sherry Rehman said that "because of Osama bin Laden, our country is still a victim of terrorism, he was involved in Karsaz, Liaquat Bagh and other terrorist attacks."
She lamented that the country is in this state (today) because of Osama bin Laden and you (Prime Minister Imran Khan) is presenting him as a hero on the floor of the Assembly, what is your teaching to future generations and the world?
However, Dr Shahbaz Gill, the prime minister's special assistant for political liaison, defended the prime minister, saying "he used the word 'assassination' twice for Osama bin Laden, in addition to the word 'martyr'."
"Attempts are being made to make his statement unnecessarily controversial locally and internationally, while the prime minister's commitment to counter-terrorism is unwavering," he said.
Osama bin Laden was being pursued by the US after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. About 3,000 people had died in the attacks that brought down the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. In May 2011, the US special forces carried a raid at his Abbottabad hideout to kill Osama bin Laden.
Pakistan had not been informed about the raid.