1)- Be informed, in the 70's and then in 2000, we took those policy decisions, keeping in view our geopolitical interests. It is better not to contaminate the minds of young people with mere assumptions, which is also about opposing our past and questioning our national wisdom.
2)- Documentation needs to be straightforward. Pakistan did not join the US war on terror. Terrorists from Afghanistan had begun to enter Pakistan. It was then that Pakistan launched a clean-up operation to stop them from entering Pakistani territory.
3)- Contrasting post 9/11 events with "#AbsolutelyNot" is naive. It is because of our role in combating the threat of terrorism that today we are standing firm and demanding that the West recognize our sacrifices. It's a result of our 20 years of resolve against terrorism.
4)- Following after 9/11 attacks, the US went to the UN to ask it to authorize an attack on Afghanistan, country that hosts the OBL. The world, including Muslim countries, China, Russia and Turkey, supports the US motion at the United Nations against AQ and the Afghan Taliban.
5)- Pakistan asked the US and Taliban to show restraint, General Musharraf before anyone else advised the US to engage Taliban through dialogue to which they refused, on the other hand, Taliban did not wanted to hand over Osama Bin Laden, rest is the history, that we all know.
6)- General Musharraf's decision to back the US was after a national consensus, when most of the politicians including IK suggested General Musharraf not to offend the bleeding world power. Later, almost everyone dropped their claims and shifted the blame to General Musharraf.
7)- Pakistan has not handed over any Pakistani to the US, except those who were captured from Afghanistan, who fought with the US, and helped Al Qaeda. Furthermore, the failure of our post 9/11 policy was due to politicians dividing the country in the fight against terrorism.
8)- After 9/11, Pakistan allowed use of drones only after identifying potential targets, following joint coordination between Pakistani and US intelligence agencies. We had no choice but to target the terrorists hiding in the mountains because we could not deal with them alone.
9)- 80K people lost their lives because every political and religious group except a few have betrayed us, harbouring terrorists and preaching their barbarism as Pakistan fought terrorists and shunned religious terrorism. Weakened our resolve and eroded the national discourse.
10)- General Musharraf made no mention of handing over Pakistanis to the United States. We caught the AQ terrorists who were using Pakistani soil to destabilize Pakistan and Afghanistan. Only such terrorists who were abandoned by their country of origin were handed over to the US
11)- I would ask IK not to promote enemy's narrative of the war on terror. We did not fight for dollars, we joined the WoT to secure Pakistan and its territorial interests, which were at threat from Eastern and Western side, we neutralized any misadventure from our hostile enemy.
12)- Therefore, I hope IK will not denigrate Pak Forces and disrespect their sacrifices to protect Pakistan and its future. You may disagree or might not get the wisdom behind the actions of General Musharraf, but twisting the truth won't help. Must acknowledge his foresight.
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