US echoes Pakistan Army’s warning to Afghanistan over terror sanctuaries.

No indication Afghan refugees in Pakistan have engaged in extremism: White House

Army figures out threat to national security, takes stock of preparedness

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has echoed Pakistan Army’s warning to Afghanistan about terrorist sanctuaries there, urging the Taliban officials to take care of them, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Tuesday.

This was said by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller during his daily news briefing in Washington on Monday in reply to a question regarding the Pakistan Army’s Corps Commanders Conference.

The question was asked from Miller to comment on Pakistan’s Corps Commanders’ Conference held on Monday in which they urged Afghanistan to take care of the terrorist sanctuaries there which are coming and doing activities in Pakistan. And this in one week is the second time that Pakistan military has openly told Afghanistan to take some action, otherwise they are going to take some action against themselves.

In reply, the State Department spokesman said “So I don’t have any comment specifically on that, but I will say we have made very clear that we believe the Taliban have the responsibility to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a safe haven for launching terrorist attacks”, the same demand Pakistan military had made twice during the last week.

Earlier in the week, the Pakistan Army had expressed serious concerns about militants allegedly finding “safe havens” in neighbouring Afghanistan. They had issued a warning of an “effective response” after twelve soldiers were killed in two attacks. The army had stated it is troubled by the safe havens and freedom of action enjoyed by the TTP in Afghanistan and emphasized that such attacks are unacceptable.

Senior Pakistani politicians, including the defence minister,  had expressed concern about the Taliban’s statement on Saturday regarding the Doha Agreement.

In an interview with BBC, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid responded to the defence minister’s remarks about Afghanistan not fulfilling its obligations under the Doha deal by stating that the peace accord was not signed with Islamabad but the United States.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said he was deeply concerned about the “safe havens” and freedom of action that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has in Afghanistan.

Speaking to BBC, the Taliban official assured that Afghanistan was not allowing its soil to be used for attacks in Pakistan, as the ruling group considers it “a Muslim and brother country”. “There is no TTP in Afghanistan. If Pakistan has any evidence, it should share it with us. We will consider it and take action. Pakistan blames us for its own failure in maintenance of law and order situation internally,” Mujahid said.

In response to Mujahid’s statement, veteran politician and senior PPP leader Farhatullah Babar found it “disturbing”. “Does it mean the Doha agreement binds the Taliban to rein in only some militants, not all?” Babar interrogated in a tweet

There is no indication that Afghan refugees in Pakistan or along its border have engaged in acts of extremism, the White House said, after Pakistan’s army expressed concern that militants had found safe havens in Afghanistan.

“We’ve seen no indication that Afghan refugees in Pakistan or along that border are guilty of acts of terrorism,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a press briefing on Monday.

Nine soldiers died after Islamist fighters stormed an army base in Pakistan’s southern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, and three more were killed in an exchange of fire in the area last week, according to the Pakistan military.

“And we’re grateful to Pakistan for the incredible generosity that they have extended to so many Afghans who are just looking for a safe and secure place to be,” Kirby said. “And we’ll continue to work with Pakistan as we have on their legitimate terrorism threats.”

The Pakistan army has “serious concerns on the safe havens and liberty of action available to TTP in Afghanistan,” it said last week, referring to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant umbrella group.

“Such attacks are intolerable and would elicit effective response from the security forces of Pakistan,” it said.

Kabul has denied past accusations that it allows militant groups to launch attacks on Pakistan from its territory.

Ealier,

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Asim Munir said on Monday the country should be prepared to counter any threat to the national security.

COAS presided over the 258th Corps Commanders’ Conference (CCC) held at GHQ today.

The forum paid rich tribute to the supreme sacrifices persistently being offered by the valiant soldiers in the defence of their motherland against the threat of terrorism.

The participants were briefed in detail about the prevailing Internal Security environment. The sanctuaries and liberty of action available to the terrorists of proscribed TTP and other groups of that ilk in a neighboring country and availability of latest weapons to the terrorists were noted as major reasons impacting security of Pakistan.

The forum deliberated in detail upon the operational preparedness and training aspects of the army. COAS said, “Objective training remains the hallmark of our professionalism and we must always remain prepared to guard against any threat to our national security.“