The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday reiterated that Pakistan does not allow its territory to be used for attacks in any other country, Radio Pakistan reported.
The FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria strongly rejected claims regarding allegations of terrorist safe havens in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas while responding to media queries, adding that Pakistan has lost thousands of its citizens and suffered economic losses of over $100 billion due to terrorism.
The United States (US) endorsed Kabul’s claim that the existence of safe havens in Fata allowed terrorists to carry out attacks inside Afghanistan whenever they want following twin suicide blasts near the Afghan parliament earlier this week.
The blasts killed scores of people. A separate blast in Kandahar wounded the UAE Ambassador Juma Mohammed Abdullah Al Kaabi and some other diplomats.
Soon after the blasts, a government spokesman in Kabul said the terrorists were able to strike targets inside Afghanistan whenever they wanted because Pakistan had allowed them to maintain safe havens in Fata, a charge Islamabad rejects as baseless.
US State Department Spokesman Mark Toner had said that Pakistan had made "some progress" and had taken "some steps to address these safe havens, but clearly the problem persists".
That’s why the United States continues to urge Pakistan to act against all terrorist groups without any discrimination and was “willing to help them” do so, Toner said, acknowledging that the remoteness of the area and the military’s tactical limitations prevent Islamabad from eliminating all terrorist safe havens.
Zakaria said Pakistan’s contribution in the fight against terrorism and sacrifices have been acknowledged at an international level, and that Pakistan remains committed to peace efforts in Afghanistan.
