Militants based in Afghanistan carrying out terror acts in Pakistan: FO

Says Indian agencies perpetrating, financing terror inside Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: As the Punjab government intensified its fight against the terrorist outfit Jamaatul Ahrar, which claimed responsibility for the recent Lahore bombings, and took out six suspected members, Pakistan once again reminded Kabul of the importance of addressing the issue of cross-border terrorism which was taking the lives of Pakistanis.

On Wednesday, the Foreign Office took up evidence against Jamaatul Ahrar at the diplomatic level that is based inside Afghanistan. The Ahrar split away from the TTP in 2014 and is believed to have with links with Daesh.

“Border management is very important in addressing the issue of cross-border terrorism, which is a mutual concern of both countries. Because there is infiltration from the Afghan side and terrorists cross the border and carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan.

It is actually for this reason that we have put in place the border control and management mechanism. Thus, both the sides have to cooperate with each other to address this issue and the concerns of both sides,” Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said at a regular media briefing.

The spokesman said Indian state agencies had perpetrated terror inside Pakistan in addition to financing many terror strikes. To a query, the spokesman said with Afghanistan there was a way out to control infiltration into Pakistan, as it was not unusual for countries which shared borders to have such problems.

“Border management is something, which is evolving. Our worries are genuine and well-recognized. We have suffered at the hands of terrorism including infiltration from across the border.

We have flagged this issue many times. With time, the border mechanism will be more effective and there will be better understanding, which is in the interest of both countries,” he added.

Pakistan has reason to worry as militants who have put their act together inside Afghanistan are now capable of launching terrorist attacks. In this regard, the spokesman pointed to third parties who have pointed out that Afghan based militants are also responsible for attacks inside Afghanistan.

“We have before us a number of references and reports filed on the situation in Afghanistan. These include a UN Report of 2014, report by General Nicholson and most recent report filed by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). All these reports highlight that almost all the factors responsible for turmoil in Afghanistan are internal to Afghanistan”, he said.

Commenting on the recently held six nation conference on Afghanistan in Moscow which was also attended by India and Pakistan, the spokesman said that it was decided that the future format would also include Central Asian States.

“The discussions focused on assessing the situation in Afghanistan and approaches towards attaining peace in Afghanistan, and taking affective steps to address those concerns. 

There is common concern of the regional countries on the growing footprint of terrorist organizations like Daesh in Afghanistan, and is directly related to the peace efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, as well as maintaining regional peace”, he said.

Focusing on the upcoming ECO summit in Islamabad, the spokesman said the theme of the Summit is “Connectivity with Prosperity”.

“Pakistan and China will discuss modalities on the nature of participation of other countries. It is clear that CPEC is not just an economic project for Pakistan or China, but it will also bring benefits for the entire region. 

It affords Pakistan the opportunity to play a role of bridge between South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia by virtue of its unique geo-strategic location at the crossroads of these regions,” he added.