Attacks in Pakistan are being orchestrated on Afghan soil, said a Foreign Office spokesman Thursday, hours after another blast killed at least nine and injured dozens in Lahore's DHA area.
"The enemy is taking advantage of the turmoil in Afghanistan and using its soil to launch terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s soil," spokesman Nafeez Zakaria said in his weekly briefing.
"Terrorism is a common enemy of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and effective border management is imperative to stop cross border movement of terrorists."
Reiterating Pakistan's commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan, Zakaria stressed working together in Quadrilateral Coordination Group for bringing lasting peace in Afghanistan.
"Issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan need to be addressed through constructive and positive engagements."
In a separate development, Afghanistan's foreign ministry spokesman Shekib Mustaghni said Kabul was ready to seek United Nations sanctions against suspected terrorist networks and their supporters.
"Afghanistan wants to see tensions between the two neighbours reduced," said the spokesman. He added that Kabul wanted Islamabad to re-open its borders, which were closed after a series of bombings left at least 125 Pakistanis dead.
At least nine people were killed and 35 injured after a bomb ripped through Lahore on Thursday, officials said, the tenth attack in just under a fortnight pointing to a resurgence in militant violence.
The blast, the second to hit the provincial capital this month, crumpled cars and sent panic rippling through the city after the wave of attacks across Pakistan killed more than 130 people.
Islamabad launched a crackdown in the wake of the attacks, saying it has killed dozens of "terrorists" in recent days and carried out airstrikes on militant hideouts along the Afghan border.
On Wednesday, the military announced a nationwide anti-terrorist operation, which defence analyst and retired general Talat Masood told AFP would "target sanctuaries... of militants in Punjab province and restrict their movements".
Much of the uptick in security across the country over the past two years has been credited to an earlier military operation targeting militants in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.