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| General Qamar Javed Bajwa |
Ayaz Gul
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military chief told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday that his troops have eliminated "all safe havens” of terrorists on Pakistani soil, and he emphasized the need for security cooperation between the two countries to deter cross-border terrorist infiltration.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa contacted Ghani by phone following Tuesday’s almost simultaneous bombings in different Afghan cities, including the capital city Kabul.
The violence left more than 50 people (dead) and wounded scores of others. Five diplomats of the United Arab Emirates also were among the dead.
Bajwa spoke to the Afghan president to condole the loss of life in recent terrorist attacks, and he expressed sympathy with victim families, according to Pakistan army spokesman, Major-General Asif Ghafoor.
Afghan officials and politicians again pointed fingers at Pakistan military’s intelligence agency for helping Taliban insurgents plot the deadly bombings. Kabul alleges Taliban insurgents use sanctuaries on Pakistani soil to stage deadly attacks in Afghanistan, charges Islamabad denies.
Ghafoor quoted the Pakistan military chief as telling Ghani that “elements inimical" to regional peace are strengthened by the blame game.
"He [General Bajwa] emphasized that Pakistan has come a long way in its fight against terrorism of all hue and color and has eliminated all safe havens in the process,” the spokesman added.
Ghafoor also said General Bajwa reiterated Pakistan’s call for putting in place “a robust" border management mechanism and intelligence cooperation to stop cross-border movement of terrorists on both sides of their nearly 2,600-kilometer largely porous border.
This story first appeared on Voice of America & is reposted here with permission.