‘Indirect terror funding’: Rajnath slams IMF on $1 billion loan to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reconsider its recent $1 billion financial assistance to Pakistan, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday, stressing that Islamabad “will certainly use a large part of the aid to fund terror infrastructure” since it has started rebuilding those destroyed by India on May 7.“Will this not be considered indirect funding (of terror) by IMF? The funds India gives to IMF should not be used, directly or indirectly, to create terror infra in Pakistan or any other country,” Singh said, in what is being seen as a not-so-subtle dig at US, which has the largest holding in IMF.Speaking to IAF and Army personnel at Bhuj air force station in Gujarat, Singh said Pakistan has announced funds to rebuild the headquarters of LeT and JeM at Muridke and Bahawalpur, which were among the nine terror hubs hit by India in just 23 minutes. “Pakistan will also spend tax collected from its citizens to give around 14 crore to JeM chief Masood Azhar, though he is a UN-designated terrorist,” Singh said.The made-in-India BrahMos missiles showed Pakistan “the light of day in the darkness of night” in the precision strikes launched by IAF fighters against airbases and radar sites, he said.India has put terror exporter Pakistan on probation: RajnathWarning Pakistan that Operation Sindoor was not yet over, Singh said, “Our actions were just a trailer, and if need be, we will show them the full picture. Attacking and eliminating terrorism is the new normal of ‘new India’.”The fight against terrorism has now become a part of the new national defence doctrine, which will root out this hybrid and proxy warfare actively aided and abetted by Islamabad, Singh said.On Thursday, at the Army base in Srinagar, Singh had said the nuclear weapons of a “rogue” country like Pakistan should be placed under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). On Friday, he asked IMF to refrain from providing any further bailouts to Pakistan.The ongoing cessation of hostilities, which came into effect at 5 pm on May 10, means India has kept Pakistan “on probation” to see whether it ceases cross-border terrorism. “If Pakistan’s behaviour improves, it is fine. But if there is any disturbance, harshest punishment will be given,” Singh said.India’s fighter jets with their standoff weapons can strike every corner of Pakistan. “The world has witnessed how the IAF destroyed terror camps and later Pakistan’s airbases. The IAF gave the proof that India's war policy and technology have changed,” he said. “They conveyed the message of ‘new India’ that we are not just dependent on weapons and platforms imported from abroad, but made-in-India equipment have become a part of our military power. The (air defence) weapons manufactured in India are also impenetrable,” Singh said.