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Updated: Jun 04, 2020 04:50 IST

“Successive governments in Pakistan did not tell the truth to the United States...”

“There were 40 different militant groups operating within Pakistan...”

“The country still has about 30,000 to 40,000 militants who have been trained and fought in Afghanistan or Kashmir...”

“Jaish-e-Mohammed was operating in India…”

These are some of the revelations Pakistan Prime Minster Imran Khan has made at various functions during his visit to the United States, as reported by news agencies.

Speaking at a function on Tuesday he said that successive governments in Pakistan did not tell the truth to the United States, in particular in the last 15 years, adding that there were 40 different militant groups operating in his country.

“We were fighting the US war on terror. Pakistan has nothing to do with 9/11. Al-Qaeda was in Afghanistan. There were no militant Taliban in Pakistan. But we joined the US war. Unfortunately, when things went wrong, where I blame my government, we did not tell the US exactly the truth on the ground,” Imran Khan said, according to PTI.

Watch | ‘40 militant groups operated in Pakistan’: Imran Khan

He was addressing a Capitol Hill reception hosted by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Chairperson of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan make brief statements to reporters before a meeting at the US Capitol. ( AFP )

There were 40 different militant groups operating within Pakistan. So Pakistan went through a period where people like us were worried about could we survive it. So while the US expected us to do more and help the US win the war, Pakistan at that time was fighting for its own existence,” he said.

Also read | Imran Khan big admission in US says, 40,000 terrorist still in Pakistan

Speaking at another function at the United States Institute of Peace during his three-day visit to the nation, Khan said that his country still has about 30,000 to 40,000 militants “who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir.”

“There was a watershed in Pakistani politics. In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban slaughtered 150 schoolchildren at Army Public School. All the political parties signed the National Action Plan and we all decided after that, that we will not allow any militant groups to operate inside Pakistan,” Khan said, reports ANI

“Until we came into power, the governments did not have the political will, because when you talk about militant groups we still have about 30,000-40,000 armed people who have been trained and fought in some part of Afghanistan or Kashmir,” he revealed.

He also admitted that the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed was operating in India.

He said that even before the Pulwama terrorist attack in which a convoy of Indian security forces were attacked by a car bomb, Pakistan had decided to disarm “all militant groups” and all the political parties had backed it.

On Februray 14, 2019, an attack on an Army convoy in Pulwama left 40 dead and resulted in a retaliatory strike by the Indian Air Force in Balakot on a terror camp of Jaish, which had claimed responsibility for the attack on jawans.

“But because this group claimed responsibility, which was in India as well -- Jaish-e-Mohammed was operating in India -- Pakistan suddenly came in the limelight,” Imran Khan added, reports IANS.

“Even before this had happened, we had already decided that we will disarm all militant groups in Pakistan. And it is Pakistan’s interest, I repeat it is in our interest, because the country has had enough of militant groups,” he added.

Khan admitted that whenever there was progress in improving ties between India and Pakistan it was met by some incident that caused a reversal. But he did not say who was behind the incidents that set back peace process.

(with agency inputs)

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