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Pak not to allow its soil for terrorism

By The Assam Tribune

ISLAMABAD, March 2 - Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state, including India, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said today as he claimed that the �nerve centre� of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group has been taken over by the government.

India on Wed-nesday handed over to Pakistan a dossier on �specific details� of involvement of the JeM in the Pulwama terror attack on CRPF as also the presence of camps of the UN-proscribed terror outfit in that country.

�India submitted its dossier..., if India wants to conduct talks on this, then we are ready for it,� Qureshi said.

He said that there is a new government with a new mindset and a new approach in Pakistan and its policies are very clear. �We will not allow Pakistani soil to be used by any group or any organisation for terrorist activities against any state, including India,� Qureshi was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Qureshi�s remarks came amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan after the February 14 terror attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in Pulwama that left 40 CRPF personnel dead. The JeM claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, Qu-reshi said that there was �still confusion� over whether the JeM had claimed responsibility for the attack or not. �The confusion is (that) the leadership (of JeM) when contacted, said no,� he said. �They have denied that, that�s the confusion.�

When questioned who contacted the JeM leadership, Qureshi said, �people over here, and the people who are known to them.�

In a separate interview to CNN, Qureshi earlier admitted that JeM chief Masood Azhar is in Pakistan and is �very unwell�, but said the government can act against him only if India presents �solid� and �inalienable� evidence that can stand in a court of law.

�He is in Pakistan, according to information. He is unwell to the extent that he can�t leave his house, because he�s really unwell,� Qureshi said.

His remarks came days after the powerful UN Security Council comprising 15 nations, including Pakistan�s key ally China, named JeM in a statement condemning in the �strongest terms� the �heinous and cowardly� terror attack perpetrated by the terror group in Pulwama and stressed on the need to hold organisers and financiers of such �reprehensible acts� accountable and bring them to justice.

In his interview to the British broadcaster, Qureshi said that the Punjab province government has taken over the �so-called nerve centre� of the JeM in Bahawalpur.

He was referring to the provincial government�s move to take over the control of a campus comprising Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, 400-km from Lahore, last month.

�India should give actionable evidence so a case can be prepared on those grounds,� he said, adding that Pakistani courts are autonomous, and evidence is needed to pursue a case.

Elaborating on the prevailing situation, Qureshi said the �situation is critical still, both countries� armed forces are still on high alert�.

�We are nuclear-armed neighbours, can we afford a war? This is suicide,� he said.

Qureshi made the comments after Pakistan released captured IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as a �peace gesture�.

Varthaman, who was in Pakistan�s custody since Wednesday, was released on Friday. � PTI

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