Afghan-Pak border region still safe haven for terrorist groups: US

Washington, July 12: The Afghanistan-Pakistan border region continues to be safe haven for many terrorist groups, the US said today acknowledging that efforts made in this regard have not always gone smoothly in the past.

"We understand that the border region is still a safe haven for many terrorist groups," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"We understand that the governments in Afghanistan and Pakistan know this themselves and have made efforts in the past to work together to try to address that threat," he said.

"We understand that that effort also has not always gone smoothly, and we continue to urge those two governments to work together along that spine to eliminate the safe haven that so many groups there still enjoy, because those groups are targeting both Afghan and Pakistani civilians – innocent people that continue to die and be maimed by these groups," Kirby said.

"So there's a shared interest there, and that's what we're focused on. We are not focused on lines on the map; we're focused on lines of effort to go after these groups by both governments," he said.

PTI