Afghan government to be provided evidence of air base attack: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today said that initial investigation into a Taliban assault on an air force base near Peshawar shows Afghanistan-based terrorists were involved in the attack that killed 42 people, including 23 air force men.

"There are evidences that terrorists had telephonic contacts within Afghanistan. Since Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan leadership is in Afghanistan, the possibility of terrorists' contacts within Afghanistan cannot be ruled out," the Prime Minister's Adviser on national security Sartaj Aziz said.

Pakistani authorities have blamed militants from Afghanistan for the attack on Badaber military base on Friday that killed 29 people and 13 militants.

"It is not the first incident that terrorists had links within Afghanistan. The December 16 attack on Army Public School was also planned in Afghanistan and its information was passed to Afghan authorities," state-run APP news agency quoted Aziz as telling a private TV channel.

The December 16 attack on Army Public School left 150 people dead, mostly students.

Aziz said that when the Pakistani army chief went to Kabul, the Afghan government's response was positive, an action was taken and many outlaws were apprehended.

"Now again, there is evidence that terrorists had received phone calls from Afghanistan. Further investigation is under way and will be shared with Afghan authorities on completion," he said.

He stressed bilateral cooperation and intelligence sharing between the two countries to proceed further for fulfilling the commitment of the May 12 joint statement and confidence-building measures.

The Afghanistan government has rejected Pakistan's claim that the Friday's attack on Badaber air base was planned and controlled from Afghanistan.