Ceasefire or not, we must go after terrorists, says Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi

HYDERABAD: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday said there can be no lasting peace as long as Pakistan uses its territory for terrorism against India.

In a post on X, Owaisi said: "#Ceasefire or no ceasefire, we must go after the terrorists responsible for the #Pahalgam attack. I have always stood by the government and armed forces against external aggression. This will continue. I thank the armed forces for their bravery and commendable skill. I pay my respects to Army Jawan M Murali Naik, ADDC Raj Kumar Thapa and pray for all the civilians who were killed or injured during the conflict."

He further stated: "I hope that this ceasefire will bring respite to the people living in the border areas. I also hope that Indians and Indian political parties learn from the past two weeks. India is strong when it is united; our enemies benefit when Indians fight Indians."

However, the AIMIM chief said he had some questions and hoped the govt would clarify them. "I wish our Prime Minister @narendramodi had announced the ceasefire and not the President of a foreign country. We have always been against third party intervention since Shimla (1972). Why have we accepted it now? I hope the Kashmir issue will not be internationalised as it is our internal matter."

"Why do we agree to talk on neutral territory? What will be on the agenda of these talks? Does the United States guarantee that Pakistan will not use its territory for terrorism? Have we achieved our goal of deterring Pakistan from carrying out future terrorist attacks? Was our aim to achieve a Trump-brokered ceasefire, or was it to put Pakistan in such a position that it would not even dream of another terrorist attack? We must continue the international campaign to put Pakistan on the FATF grey list," Owaisi said on X.

Earlier, at a programme in the city, Owaisi said Pakistan should be disarmed of its nuclear weapons and called the Pakistan army and establishment ‘liars.' "They are using Quranic verses to justify their misdeeds. India has to stand up to a nation that is a threat to the whole world. At some point of time, the world leaders will have to decide whether Pakistan is capable of handling nuclear weapons and whether it should be allowed to have nuclear weapons," he said.

He said Pakistan says it is waging an Islamic war against Bharat (India). They should know that there are 20 crore Muslims living in India. "Pakistan should remember their atrocities in Balochistan, Iran, Afghanistan and the erstwhile East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Have they forgotten the Quranic verses?" he asked.

"What have you (Pakistan) done in the last 75 years? Who forced them to take a loan of one billion dollars from the IMF? The IMF is giving the fund to Pakistan. They will use it as an international military fund. How is Germany, the United States, and Japan agreeing to sanction the amount?" he asked.