Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz on Friday asked Afghan government to take action against the terrorists responsible for recent terror attacks in Pakistan. According to Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz talked on phone with Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar.
In this telephone conversation, he said, Sartaj Aziz underlined that the government and the people of Pakistan are in a state of deep anguish and pain at the recent terrorist incidents in various parts of Pakistan resulting into loss of precious human lives. He said that the Adviser conveyed to the Afghan national security adviser that terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) is behind these barbaric acts of terrorism. "He (Aziz) expressed serious concern that JuA continues to operate from its sanctuaries and safe havens in Afghanistan for undertaking terrorism in Pakistan, and the government of Afghanistan has not paid a heed to Pakistan's repeated calls on the Afghan government to take action against the group based in Afghanistan," the spokesperson added.
In this regard, he added that Pakistan has shared a list of suspected JuA terrorists with the Government of Afghanistan for action against them. The adviser also underscored that terrorism is a common threat and its elimination requires close co-operation. He said it is important that Afghan government should take strong action against such elements to reaffirm that its soil is not used for terrorism in Pakistan.
Sartaj Aziz emphasised that co-operation between Afghanistan and Pakistan is vital for effectively combating the scourge of terrorism. In this regard, effective border management is required to prevent the movement of terrorist elements across the border, he added.
According to the spokesperson, the Afghan national security adviser expressed his government's condolences over the loss of lives in recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan. On February 14, Afghan Deputy Chief of Mission Syed Abdul Nasir Yousafi was summoned to the Foreign Office by Additional Secretary Untied Nations and European Commission, Tasnim Aslam, and he was conveyed the grave concern of Pakistan about the continuing terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil by the terrorist outfit JuA from its sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.
The senior official of Foreign Office also shared an aide-memoire containing details of the terrorist attacks and supporting information with the Afghan deputy head of mission.