Eliminate TTP faction's safe haven, Pakistan tells Afghanistan

Adviser Sartaj Aziz calls Afghan national security adviser a day after bomber killed 70 people inside Sindh's shrine

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday called Afghan National Security Adviser (NSA) Hanif Atmar and underlined that the government and people of Pakistan were in deep anguish because of the recent spate of terrorist incidents.

Aziz conveyed to the Afghan NSA that terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) was behind these barbaric acts of terrorism, a Foreign Office statement said.

He expressed serious concern that the group continues to operate from its sanctuaries and safe havens in Afghanistan.



The government of Afghanistan, he lamented, had not paid a heed to Pakistan's repeated calls to take action against the group and its activities. In this regard, Aziz highlighted, Pakistan has shared a list of suspected JuA terrorists with the Government of Afghanistan for action against them.

Aziz stressed that terrorism was a common threat and its elimination required close cooperation. He said it was important that Afghan government take strong action against terrorist elements to reaffirm that its soil was not used for terrorism in Pakistan.

The adviser also emphasised that cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan was vital for effectively combating the scourge of terrorism. In this regard, effective border management was required to prevent movement of terrorist elements across the border.



The Afghan NSA expressed his government's condolences over the loss of lives in recent attacks.

Earlier on Friday, Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa vowed to respond to the recent wave of terror in the country, after which security forces indefinitely closed the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Further, Pakistan Army has asked Kabul to hand over 76 suspected that are allegedly hiding in Afghanistan.