Pakistan admits some political dissidents had links with terrorist entities inside country

Islamabad: Pakistan has acknowledged that some of the political dissidents, who have sought asylum in the United Kingdom and other countries, had links with terrorist entities inside the country.

Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zehra Baloch made the statement during her weekly media briefing here on Thursday while responding to a question on the alleged acid attack on jailed prime minister Imran Khan's aide.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former special assistant to the prime minister, Mirza Shahzad Akbar, last week claimed that he was attacked at his home in the UK, adding that 'acidic liquid' was thrown at him.

When asked about the incident, the Foreign Office spokesperson rejected any insinuations of Pakistan's involvement and that of Pakistani agencies in the attack, saying it is not 'our policy to target our own nationals abroad.' She, however, said that many political dissidents have sought political asylum and have been living in the UK and other countries around the world for several decades.

"Many of them have had links with terrorist entities inside Pakistan," she said.

She asserted that Pakistan has not engaged in any extra-territorial attacks against such individuals.