'We won't allow militant groups in our country': Pakistani PM vows to eliminate 'outside terrorism'

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has said no militant group would be allowed to function in the country, as it cracks down on terrorist groups following a border flare-up with India.

“This government will not allow Pakistan's land to be used for any kind of outside terrorism,” Khan said at a public rally on Friday. “We will not allow any militant group to function in our country now.”

Pakistan has recently cracked down on Islamist militants on its soil, arresting close relatives of the leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), the group that has been carrying out cross-border attacks in India. One such recent attack, a car bombing that killed over 40 Indian police officers, provoked a military response from New Delhi, which launched an airstrike into the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region.

While India claimed to have destroyed Pakistani-backed JeM camps and killed multiple terrorists, Pakistan maintains there had been no terrorists in the area. The situation escalated into cross border fighting between the two nuclear-armed nations, including a dogfight that saw an Indian pilot get shot down and captured. Pakistan returned him to India a few days later.

Multiple world powers have been urging the sides to come to a peaceful solution and pressuring Pakistan to take action against extremist groups. As part of the crackdown, Islamabad announced it took control of 182 religious schools in the country and detained over 100 people.

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