London: Another Pakistani leader acknowledged Islamabad's terror links. In an interview with Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim, Pakistan Senator Sherry Rehman admitted Pakistan's connections with terror organisations in the past.
The interview which revolved around Pakistan's removal from the FATF grey list, turned into a heated argument between Hakim and Rehman. The Pakistani Senator could be heard saying "Pakistan is a changed country now".
“We are fighting terrorism Pakistan is a changed country now," Rehman said.
When Hakim asked Rehman about people like Sajid Mir, a key plotter of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and the country's tolerance for terrorism, the Pakistani senator "You’re citing a long history of engaging with terrorism one way or the other… either fighting it or otherwise."
Digressing from the main topic of discussion, Rehman stated that Pakistan could not be responsible for everything happening in India. "Are we responsible for all 100 insurgencies running in India?"
When pressed to answer about Pakistan being on the FATF grey list until 2022, Rehman said, "We have a history of engaging with one way or other... where are we taking it It's a constant snipping about what Pakistan did in the past."
Hakim also mentioned about India's Operation Sindoor targeting terror camps of Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad to question Rehman about Pakistan's terror links.
When Rehman was questioned about Brigade 313 carrying out its operations from Pakistan, she said, "I don't know who told you this, but I can produce any number of pages saying all this," Rehman replied. She even suggested the creation of a "digital dossier" to counter claims of Pakistan's support of terrorism. Notably, the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) considers Brigade 313 as an umbrella organisation of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda,
Rehman served as Pakistan’s ambassador to the US between 2011 and 2013.
Earlier in May, Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif admitted that Pakistan had supported terror activities for decades. During an interview with UK-based Sky News, Asif said that Pakistan does not have an unimpeachable track record as it had supported terror groups for the West, including the United States and Britain.
