Pakistan has conveyed "grave concern" to Afghanistan over the continued terror attacks by a terrorist outfit, Jumaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), from its sanctuaries across the border, urging the Afghan government to take urgent steps to eliminate the terrorists' sanctuaries.
A spokesperson for Foreign Office, Nafees Zakaria, said that Afghan deputy head of mission, Syed Abdul Nasir Yousafi, was called in at the Foreign Office on Tuesday by additional secretary United Nations and European Commission, Tasnim Alsam. "The Afghan deputy head of mission was conveyed the grave concern of Pakistan about the continuing terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil by the terrorist outfit, Jumaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) from its sanctuaries inside Afghanistan," Zakaria said.
He said that the top Afghan diplomat's attention was also drawn towards the earlier actionable intelligence shared by Pakistani authorities with the Afghan side. "Afghanistan was urged to take urgent measures to eliminate the terrorists and their sanctuaries, financiers and handlers operating from its territory," he said, adding an aide-memoir containing details of the terrorist attacks and supporting information was also shared with the Afghan deputy head of mission.
Pakistan has been urging the Afghan government to take action against the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) sanctuaries reportedly based in Kunar and Noristan provinces and its leadership, especially Mullah Fazlullah. However, the latest move of summoning the Afghan diplomat and conveying grave concerns over continued terror attacks comes following a suicide attack in which 13 people, including two senior police officers, were killed in Lahore on Monday last and responsibility for which was claimed by Jumaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the TTP.