Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir on Friday expressed “serious concerns” the Pakistan Armed Forces had over “safe havens and freedom of action” available to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement, the COAS made the remarks during his visit to Quetta Garrison where he received a detailed briefing on the recent terrorist attack in Zhob.
The statement said the COAS also visited the injured soldiers at Combined Military Hospital, Quetta, lauded their services and appreciated their resolve.
The ISPR cited the army chief as saying that “it is expected that the interim Afghan Government will not allow the use of its soil to perpetrate terror against any country, in the real sense and in line with commitments made in Doha Agreement.”
“The involvement of Afghan nationals in acts of terrorism in Pakistan is another important concern that needs to be addressed,” he said, adding such attacks were “intolerable” and would elicit an effective response from the security forces of Pakistan.
“Operations against terrorists would continue unabated and the armed forces shall not rest till the menace of terrorism is rooted out from the country,” the COAS remarked.
On Wednesday, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch urged Afghan authorities during a weekly news briefing to fulfill their promises that their soil would not be used for terrorism against Pakistan.
She said it was their responsibility to ensure that their land was not used against Pakistan, and Afghan authorities had accepted this responsibility on various occasions.
