Countering terror: Islamabad reassures Kabul of support

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has reaffirmed its resolve to fight terrorism in close coordination with the Afghanistan government in the wake of Monday’s brazen Taliban attack on Afghan parliament.

Seven Taliban insurgents attacked the parliament house in Kabul with gunfire and a huge explosion rocking the building. The siege ended after Afghan security forces pinned down and killed all the attackers in a nearby building.

Denouncing the attack, the Foreign Office said Pakistani government stood with its Afghan brothers in the common struggle against extremism. “[We] strongly condemn the attack on the building of Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament) in Kabul. We commend the role of Afghan security forces in effectively countering this act of terrorism,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Separately, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the terrorist attack on Afghan parliament. Terrorism is a common enemy of both countries and steps are being taken in unison to defeat the nefarious designs of terrorists, he said in a message to the Afghan government.

In a separate statement, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said parliament of any country represented the aspirations of its people and an attack on the legislative house was ‘deplorable’.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2015.