Terror safe havens in Afghanistan, no such enclaves exist in Pakistan: Lodhi

By Khaama Press - Sun Dec 24 2017, 12:49 pm

Amid growing pressures by Washington on Islamabad to act against the terrorist safe havens in its soil, a top Pakistani diplomat ahs said the terror groups have not safe havens in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi said Saturday that the terror safe havens existed in areas of Afghanistan that were not under government control.

She went on to claim that “There are no such safe havens in Pakistan. The only havens that exist for the insurgents and for Daesh and other terrorists are within the 40 percent of Afghan territory which is outside the control of the Afghan government.”

The US Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to Afghanistan on Friday reiterated Washington’s stance regarding the terror safe havens in Pakistan.

He said “For too long Pakistan has provided safe haven to the Taliban and many terrorist organizations, but those days are over. President Trump has put Pakistan on notice.”

“As the President said, so I say now: Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with the United States, and Pakistan has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists,” he added.

The US President Donald Trump had earlier expressed concerns regarding the terror safe havens posing threats to Afghanistan and the United States.

President Trump in his new national security strategy has stated that the United States continues to face threats from transnational terrorists and militants operating from within Pakistan.

President Trump further added that the United States seek a Pakistan that is not engaged in estabilizing behavior and a stable and self-reliant Afghanistan.

He also added that “We will press Pakistan to intensify its counterterrorism efforts, since no partnership can survive a country’s support for militants and terrorists who target a partner’s own service members and officials.

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