Terrorists taken into custody so that Indian jets don't bomb them: Bilawal Bhutto

ISLAMABAD: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the leader of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has questioned the Pakistan government's action against terrorist organizations.


"Militants haven't been arrested, rather they've been taken into protective custody so that Indian jets don't bomb them," Bilawal Bhutto told reporters on Wednesday.

The PPP leader was speaking to reporters after his appearance, along with his father and former President Asif Ali Zardari, before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which questioned them for about two hours on various corruption charges.



The PPP leader also accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of taking support from the banned terror organizations.

Meanwhile, the US has warned Pakistan that another terror attack on India will prove to be "extremely problematic" as it asked Islamabad to take more "concrete and sustained" actions to rein in terror groups including the JeM and the LeT.

Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district in February 14.

India launched a counter-terror operation in Balakot. The next day, Pakistan Air Force retaliated and downed a MiG-21 in an aerial combat and captured the pilot, who was handed over to India on March 1.

Addressing reporters at the White House on Wednesday, a senior administration official said: "We need to see Pakistan taking concrete and sustained action to rein in the terrorist groups, mainly the Jaish-e-Muhammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba in order to ensure that we don't have re-escalation (of tensions) in the region".

"If there's any additional terrorist attack without Pakistan having made a sustained, sincere effort against these groups, it would be extremely problematic for Pakistan and it would cause re-escalation of tensions, which is dangerous for both countries," he said on the condition of anonymity.

Asked about the steps being taken by Pakistan in the aftermath of the Balakot air strike by Indian fighter jets, the official said that the US and the international community needed to see "irreversible and sustained" actions against the terror groups.

"It's early to make a full assessment," he said.

In the recent days, the official said Pakistan has taken some "initial" actions. They have frozen the assets of some terrorist groups and made some arrests. They have taken administrative control of some of the JeM facilities, he said.