Afghanistan must live up to its promises made to world: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan must live up to the commitments it has made to the international community and Islamabad, including ensuring that Kabul's soil isn't used for terrorism, Pakistan stressed on Thursday.

The response came after Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told Pakistan that the recent bombing in Peshawar, which claimed at least 100 lives and left more than 200 injured, had nothing to do with Afghanistan.

Taking to their Twitter handle, the Afghan Foreign Office said: "Foreign Minister Molavi Amir Khan Muttaqi: Pakistan should investigate the latest explosion in Peshawar and not blame Afghanistan."

The bomber struck as hundreds of worshippers gathered for noon prayers in a mosque that was purpose-built for the police and their families living in a highly fortified zone, with authorities saying that a member of a militant network was behind the attack.

"It is time the commitments made to the world and Pakistan are fulfilled with sincerity and in good faith with concrete actions," Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during her weekly press briefing.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan expects sincere cooperation from the interim government in Afghanistan to address the challenge of terrorism and hopes that Kabul would live up to the commitments.

"We take the loss of innocent lives very seriously and would expect our neighbours to do the same," the spokesperson stressed, as the country battles a rise in terrorism.

Terror attacks have increased especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the banned TTP — which has safe havens in Afghanistan — ended a ceasefire with Islamabad in November last year and began its operations, targeting security forces mostly.

In this regard, the spokesperson said that terrorism is a common threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan. "We must take a strong stance against entities that use violence against innocent citizens and law enforcement agencies."

The spokesperson said that Pakistan remains firm in its resolve to root out the evil of terrorism and safeguard the security of every citizen.

"We do not believe in accusations or finger-pointing; however, we would reiterate our expectation that no country would allow its territory to be used for perpetrating terrorism against Pakistan."