Pakistan is the victim of terrorism

We take strong exception to the vitriolic piece by Gurmeet Kanwal, a so-called defence analyst from Delhi, recycled in your esteemed newspaper.Under the garb of explaining the evolving nature of the phenomenon of terrorism, his sole purpose appears to be to malign Pakistan and its security institutions. Knowledgeable people are well aware that terrorism has a long and complex history – both in the world and in South Asia. The allegation that all major acts of international terrorism are traced back to Pakistan verges on absurdity.  

The real fact is that Pakistan has been one of the biggest victims of terrorism for over three decades now, since the foreign invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. More than 30,000 of our citizens – including men, women and children as well as security personnel – have embraced martyrdom in acts of terrorism in recent years.  

The scourge of terrorism can be fought by building effective cooperation at the regional and international levels, not by churning out blatantly partisan and cheap propaganda pieces. We would also hope that your newspaper would be more diligent in the future and choose balanced and objective narratives when reprinting articles from other publications.

Sohail Mahmood

Ambassador of Pakistan to Thailand