Pakistan asks Afghanistan to "eliminate terrorist sanctuaries"

Pakistan on Thursday reiterated its call on neighboring Afghanistan to eliminate "hideouts of the Pakistani militants on the Afghan side of the border."

Security officials insist that Pakistani Taliban leaders, who have fled the country as the result of military operations, now operate from the Afghan border regions.

On Tuesday, the military said a group of 90 to 100 militants from Afghanistan's Khost and Paktika province attacked a border post in North Waziristan and killed four paramilitary troops.

The Foreign Ministry Wednesday summoned the Afghan charge d' affaires and a protest was lodged on the attack.

The spokeswoman told reporters in Islamabad on Thursday that Pakistan had lodged a formal protest after the attack from Afghanistan into Pakistani territory from across the international border.

"We have asked Afghanistan in very clear and categorical terms to eliminate the terrorist sanctuaries that have taken root in Afghanistan in various provinces there," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam said at her weekly briefing.

On its part Afghanistan also claims that rockets are fired into its border areas from Pakistani side of the border. Kabul also alleges Afghan Taliban are hiding in Pakistan, the charge denied by Islamabad.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson avoided response to recent Afghan allegations that Pakistani intelligence agencies are " sending fighters to Afghanistan."

"Pakistan is a mature country. We are a very important country we have to behave in a mature manner. It does not behave use to respond to all baseless allegations," she said. Endi