Defence minister says Pakistan will continue to eradicate terrorists’ camps within its territory. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Speaking to media representatives in the federal capital, he said Pakistan has always supported Afghanistan and has even hosted approximately three million Afghan refugees during the past 30 years, amid growing unrest in the war-torn country.
Thousands cross border at Torkham, Chaman
The minister said that come what may, Pakistan would continue to eradicate terrorists’ camps within its territory.
Without naming any country or terror outfit, Asif said that Pakistan’s enemy should know that its defence capabilities were impregnable and that it was capable of meeting any challenge thrown its way.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan worsened after a series of terror attacks in February, including the one at Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine in Sindh’s Sehwan that killed at least 80 people, sent shockwaves across Pakistan.
Eliminate TTP faction's safe haven, Pakistan tells Afghanistan
Pakistan said militants accused of those attacks were being sheltered in Afghanistan while Kabul for its part accused Pakistan of fanning the flames of an insurgency that has gripped its country since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.
On Tuesday, thousands of people flocked to border crossings at Torkham and Chaman when Pakistani officials temporarily reopened the border with Afghanistan after Islamabad shut the frontier following the shrine attack in Sehwan.
The borders, according to officials, were opened to allow Afghan and Pakistani travellers stranded on both sides of the Durand Line to return to their home countries.
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