ISLAMABAD -  Downplaying the blatant allegation of Afghan president linking Pakistan with the fresh spate of terror wave in Kabul, the civil and military leadership in Islamabad have decided to remain engaged with neighbouring Afghanistan to jointly fight out the menace of terrorism.

The huddle of civil and military leadership met here under the chair of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Kabul, and observed that the government and the people of Pakistan shared the shock, grief and sorrow of their Afghan brethren and stood by them in complete solidarity.

The National Security Committee, the apex civil and military leadership body, downplaying the reaction of the Afghan government wherein direct blame was put on Pakistan, termed the reaction based on misconceptions created by certain foreign elements, and once again expressed Islamabad’s resolve to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their Afghan brethren against the common enemy of humanity.

The 18th meeting of the body was attended by Khawaja Asif, foreign minister, Prof Ahsan Iqbal, minister for interior, General Zubair Mehmood Hayat, chairman JCSC, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of the army staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, chief of the naval staff, Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman, chief of the air staff, Lt General Nasser Khan Janjua, national security adviser and senior civil and military officials.

The National Security Committee reviewed the security situation in the region and strongly condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Kabul.

The body emphasised that the people of Pakistan understood the pain and anguish of the people of Afghanistan very well since they were themselves the greatest victims of terrorism.

 The committee expressed the resolve to forge ahead, despite difficulties, with positive engagement with Afghanistan, including the already planned visit of the Pakistani delegation to Kabul on February 3, for discussions on Pakistan’s proposed “Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Solidarity.”

The committee expressed satisfaction on the progress made with regard to border controls with Afghanistan, and noted that the Afghan government should support the fencing of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as being in the interest of both the countries.

The National Security Committee reviewed the actions taken by the Government of Pakistan and provincial governments to fulfil the country’s international responsibilities under the Financial Action Taskforce Framework (FATF).

The committee expressed satisfaction over the objectives achieved so far, and directed the concerned ministries to complete the few outstanding actions at the earliest.

The committee directed that the achievements made by Pakistan in fulfilling its international obligations should be fully shared with the FATF, and expressed its hope that the FATF would not be politicised by a few countries.

Finally, the National Security Committee reaffirmed Pakistan’s position of continuing to play its role for regional stability and peace.