ANKARA – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used against Pakistan and that the Afghan government should take necessary steps in this regard.
Talking to newsmen in Ankara, where he is on a three-day official visit, the premier expressed that the government was in touch with Kabul regarding the ongoing scenario.
“We have spoken to Afghan leadership and I am sure they will take action against groups using their soil for attacks in Pakistan,” he said.
In response to a question, Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan wants peace and stability in Afghanistan which is vital for the progress and prosperity for the entire region.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan wanted peaceful relations with all neighbours, including India.
“We should not even think that Pakistan and India can hatch conspiracies against each other,” he asserted.
Regarding Rangers deployment in Punjab and initiation of operation Radd ul Fasaad, he claimed that both the decisions were taken at PM house which depicts the resolve of the incumbent government to smash terrorism.
‘The operation against terrorism has broken the backbone of the terrorists. War against terrorism will continue till the elimination of the last terrorist’ he added.
The Prime Minister said that Pakistan’s enemy could not digest the development in the country and therefore they were targeting soft targets however, they will not succeed in their nefarious designs.
To a question, he said that holding of the ECO (Economic Cooperation Organization) summit in Pakistan hints at Pakistan’s progress.
Earlier, during a fifth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council of the two countries in Ankara, Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan and Turkey had shared concerns over attempts to link Islam with terrorism and pledged to intensify their joint endeavours to combat growing Islamophobia.
