Pakistan urges foreign forces to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Thursday urged foreign forces in Afghanistan to take action and eliminate sanctuaries of Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan.

The Afghan government and the Resolute Support Mission need to do more within Afghanistan to eliminate all safe havens and terrorist sanctuaries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Faisal said at his weekly briefing.

Pakistani officials insist that the militants have fled to Afghanistan as the result of major military operations across the country in recent years and now operate from the other side of the border.

"It is a matter of satisfaction that the United States is taking actions against the terrorists hiding inside Afghanistan including the Pakistani Taliban Chief Fazalullah, who have committed acts of terrorism across Pakistan. More needs to be done," Faisal said.

He rejected the U.S. claims about the presence of terrorists in Pakistan and said Pakistan has been consistently reminding its U.S. interlocutors about series of successful military operations undertaken by the Armed Forces of Pakistan in the border areas with Afghanistan. Enditem