Terrorists will target Pakistan if it hosts US bases: PM

Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned that the terrorists will target Pakistan for revenge if Islamabad agrees to host the US bases in the country.

“If Pakistan were to agree to host U.S. bases, from which to bomb Afghanistan, and an Afghan civil war ensued, Pakistan would be targeted for revenge by terrorists again,” wrote PM Khan in an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Tuesday.

The premier said that Pakistan can’t afford it because the country has already paid too heavy a price.

The remarks from PM Khan come a few days after he told HBO Axios in an interview that Pakistan will “absolutely not” provide any bases to the United States for military action in Afghanistan.

Pakistan reportedly provided bases to the US in the past, but Islamabad has lately been vocal about denying Washington any bases in the country.

The premier wrote that Pakistan have lost over 70,000 lives and suffered an economic loss of more than $150 billion after joining the war against terrorism in Afghanistan.

“After joining the U.S. effort, Pakistan was targeted as a collaborator, leading to terrorism against our country from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other groups,” he wrote in his op-ed.

He said Pakistan is ready to become a partner with the US for peace in Afghanistan but it won’t become the part of any conflict.

The Pakistan premier made it clear that his country won’t make a mistake of choosing sides in Afghanistan and it will work with any government that enjoys the confidence of the Afghans.

“History proves that Afghanistan can never be controlled from the outside,” he said.