Pakistan rejects Afghan allegations

Pakistan on Sunday strongly rejected baseless and unfounded allegations levelled by Afghan government against Pakistan after the recent terrorist attack in Kabul. Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that "we have witnessed with serious concern baseless accusations against Pakistan by certain elements inside and outside Afghanistan, made within minutes of the attack and obviously before any investigation."
He said that this accusatory approach is instigated by those who have no interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan and their malicious agenda is to damage Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and the co-operation initiatives recently gaining momentum. Pakistan has condemned the Kabul terrorist attack in strongest terms. Being victim of terrorism, we feel the pain and agony of the Afghan people, the adviser said.
Afghanistan faces serious internal challenges including growing violence caused by insurgency, expanding foothold of Daesh and other terrorist groups exploiting the country's ungoverned spaces, he said, adding that increasing drug production and trafficking provides financial support for sustaining terrorism and militancy. "Combating these huge challenges requires strengthening of its security network. Levelling allegations against other countries only signifies a tendency to externalise the internal challenges faced by Afghanistan," he underlined. He emphasised that Afghan authorities should undertake a transparent investigation into the incident in order to make a determination about the perpetrators of the attack based on concrete evidence. Pakistan supports any such investigation. "We in Pakistan are convinced that a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan is in the best interest of Pakistan," he said, adding that Pakistan has, therefore, continued to reaffirm its strong support to the efforts for durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's human and financial sacrifices in fighting the menace of terrorism have been widely recognised. The international community has also appreciated the remarkable success of our counter-terrorism efforts which have effectively targeted terrorists without any discrimination. The results of our effective counter-terrorism campaign are visible in a peaceful domestic environment, he underscored.
The adviser underlined that strong bonds of religion, culture, history and geography bind the peoples of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan has always stood with the people of Afghanistan in their difficult times. For the past four decades, millions of our Afghan brothers, facing unstable conditions in Afghanistan, have lived in Pakistan with dignity and honour. "Pakistan has also been making important contribution in assisting Afghanistan in vital social and economic areas.