Pakistan says sale of advanced weapons to India would undermine strategic balance in South Asia

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday expressed concern over the reported sale of advanced weapons to India by some countries, saying it would undermine the strategic balance in the region. “Pakistan will continue to raise its voice at the international fora which should objectively assess its actions and policies towards South Asian region,” Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said at his weekly media briefing. [caption id=“attachment_3659705” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Pakistan Foreign office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria. AP[/caption] His comments came amid reports that the United States has cleared the sale of predator Guardian drones to India. Zakaria said Pakistan was alive toward the issue of its national security which would be safeguarded at every cost. He also rejected allegations about presence of the Haqqani network in Pakistan and said that it was just “rhetoric” and effort to shift blame on his country. “The killing of a number of commanders of Haqqani network in Afghanistan clearly indicate that the group is based in Afghanistan and not operating from Pakistan,” he said. He also claimed that in Pakistan there was no organised presence of any terror outfit like the Taliban, Jamaat-ul Ahrar, Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. Zakaria said that during the visit of the United States delegation headed by Senator John McCain, matters pertaining to Afghanistan were discussed. He repeated Pakistan’s support for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process. He alleged that New Delhi was against peace in the war-torn country. The spokesperson also said that there are reports of Indian forces using ammunition containing chemical agents and precursors in Kahsmir. “We call upon the international community, particularly, relevant International organizations to initiate investigations into these reports,” he added.