Afghanistan urges Pakistan to act against terror groups

Afghanistan's national security adviser has called on the Pakistani government to "take serious measures" against Islamist groups launching attacks on Afghan targets from secure havens inside Pakistan.

Rangin Dadfar Spanta spoke to AFP in an interview a week after the Al-Jazeera television network said Afghan President Hamid Karzai had met the man who runs the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network in talks mediated by Pakistan.

Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Taliban have all denied any such meeting.

Spanta's comments signal an about-turn by the Afghan government after months of overtures to Islamabad in efforts to prompt Pakistan to deal with militant groups, including Al-Qaeda and the Taliban based along Afghan border.

Spanta told AFP yesterday that Afghanistan had "tremendous evidence" that Pakistani authorities allowed Al-Qaeda and other terror organisations to operate on the country's soil and had presented it to Islamabad "many times".

Islamabad had failed to act against the groups based in Pakistan's tribal areas on the Afghan border, he told AFP.

"My expectation is that Pakistan after nine years -- because theoretically Pakistan is part of the anti-terror alliance -- they have to begin to take some serious measures against terrorism," he said.

"They have to hand over the leadership of the terrorist groups, they have to give a list of the people they have arrested and are holding in the detention centres in Pakistan."

Afghan officials have blamed a number of major attacks on Pakistani-based groups whom they say are supported by Pakistan's intelligence and military.

Such militants were blamed for blowing up the Serena Hotel in Kabul in 2008, attacking the Indian embassy, other Indian targets and a UN guesthouse in October that led to a mass withdrawal from Afghanistan of UN staff.

"We have evidence that the terrorists from Pakistan are involved in daily attacks against our people and international 'jihadi' groups are active here. They have their base and sanctuaries behind our border and this is a serious problem," Spanta said.

"We have to address the menace of terrorism."

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been traditionally marked by distrust, but there had been growing signs of rapprochement.

Pakistan has been concerned by growing influence wielded by India in Afghanistan, where the Pakistani security establishment has traditionally sought "strategic depth" to offset the might of its bitter nuclear rival.

India makes significant aid contributions to Afghanistan, has an expanding business presence and four consulates in the country.