In denial: Kabul denies attack launched from Afghan soil

The Palace further said that the military operations in Waziristan and KPK have had consequences for both countries

ISLAMABAD:

Afghanistan on Saturday rejected Pakistan’s assertions that the Badhaber attack had been ‘planned and controlled’ from its soil.

“The government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly rejects the claims as baseless that yesterday’s attack in Peshawar was planned and controlled from Afghanistan,” the Afghan Presidential Palace said in a statement.

“Afghanistan, as a victim of terrorism, feels the agony and pain of terrorism, and commiserates in that spirit with the victims of yesterday’s attack in Peshawar.” It invited Pakistan to engage in ‘joint and sincere efforts’ to eliminate terrorism.

The Palace further said that the military operations in Waziristan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have had consequences for both countries.

“The government of Afghanistan has put in a lot of efforts in recent years to fight terrorism and it once again calls on Pakistan to jointly fight alongside Afghanistan all terrorist groups without discrimination,” Ghani's office went on to say.

The Afghan foreign ministry in a statement added that “No terrorist group will be allowed to use Afghan soil against neighbouring countries”.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2015.