ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson on Thursday responded to Kabul urging Islamabad not to blame it for violence on its soil, saying that while the country did not believe in "finger-pointing", it expected Afghanistan to fulfill its anti-terror commitments.
Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was responding to Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who had urged Pakistan to desist from "sowing the seeds of enmity" between the two countries by placing blame on Afghanistan for militant attacks on its soil.
His statement came in response to Pakistani officials who said Monday's suicide blast, which targeted a mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar, was orchestrated by militants using Afghan soil for their activities.
As militants have stepped up attacks in Pakistan over the past couple of months, Islamabad has called on Kabul to rein in the Pakistani Taliban or the TTP. Kabul has always denied allegations it is harboring militants who attack Pakistan or any other state.
"We do not believe in accusations or finger-pointing; however, we would reiterate our expectation that no country would allow its territory to be used for perpetrating terrorism against Pakistan," Baloch said during a weekly press briefing.
Responding to Muttaqi's statement, she said Islamabad expects "sincere cooperation" from the Afghan government to address militancy. She said Pakistan hopes Kabul would "live up to the commitments made to the international community in this regard."
"We take loss of innocent lives very seriously and would expect our neighbors to do the same," Baloch said. "Terrorism is a common threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan," she said, calling on countries to take a strong stance against elements who attack the public and law enforcers.
