LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Sunday that Pakistan and Afghanistan had an agreement against use of their soils by any terrorist group.

Talking to journalists here after arrival from Geneva, the prime minister said certain terrorist elements inside Afghanistan were involved in attacks in Pakistan, including the Army Public School in Peshawar and the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda.

“Pakistan is strictly abiding by the agreement and neither is the Afghan government violating it,” he said, adding that Afghanistan had an elected government, armed forces and intelligence agencies and it was their responsibility to act against terrorist elements.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan are strictly following this agreement, but there are certain elements in Afghanistan who on their own are attacking Pakistan,” Mr Sharif said.

“In 2014 our school was attacked from Afghanistan. Such attacks should be stopped,” he added.

Certain Afghan elements ‘attacking Pakistan on their own’

Answering a question, Mr Sharif said Pakistan strongly supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process because stability in the region was linked to stability in Afghanistan.

He said the recent quadrilateral meeting in Kabul of the coordinated group comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China was “very encouraging”.

“The three countries in the group want a peaceful settlement to the Afghan issue,” he said, adding that it was not the responsibility only of Pakistan. The prime minister expressed the hope that there would be progress on the nascent initiative.

Pathankot attack

About the terrorist attack on the Pathankot airbase in India, Mr Sharif said Pakistan was investigating the matter and facts would be brought forward whenever investigations were over. A special team has been constituted to thoroughly investigate the incident and it would also visit India to collect further evidences.

He said the Indian prime minister had assured Pakistan of assistance in the investigation process and they were working on the right lines.

NAP implementation

About the National Action Plan, he said it was being implemented vigorously and a plan was on the anvil to tackle militant elements. But he admitted that progress in certain areas had often been slow.

He said Pakistan would continue the fight against militants.

“We will fulfil this responsibility. In certain areas of the NAP the progress is slow, but in many other areas work has been started,” he added.

The prime minister said Pakistan was facing certain issues, which could not be tackled single-handedly and required consultations with all stakeholders. The government, the army and other institutions used to hold close consultations over certain important issues which also helped them a lot, he added.

He said whether it was a decision regarding war on terrorism, bringing about a constitutional amendment, setting up military courts or formulating the NAP, these were achieved after consultations.

“Our religion Islam also advises us to sort out issues and differences through consultations. It is frequently done through which I also get input, enabling the government to reach a decision,” he said

Saudi-Iranian conflict

Answering a question, the prime minister said it was Pakistan’s desire to ease tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran and bridge the chasm in their ties. “We have taken the initiative on our own. Nobody called us to initiate it,” he made it clear.

Mr Sharif said Pakistan had talked to both sides and was waiting for a response after which things would move forward.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2016