ISLAMABAD: Responding to media queries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad on Tuesday said Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Pakistan’s role and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism were well-known, the spokesperson said adding, “We have seen the official statements by the United States and media reports regarding a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the US in Afghanistan.”

Pakistan stood by countering terrorism in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions, he maintained.

US President Joe Biden has confirmed that Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was killed in a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the CIA in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday.

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US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said President Joe Biden last year committed to the American people that, following the withdrawal of US forces, the United States would continue to protect our country and act against terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan.

“The president made clear that we would not hesitate to protect the homeland. We were able to do so in this instance — and will be positioned to do so going forward — as a result of the skill and professionalism of our intelligence and counterterrorism community colleagues, for whom the President and I are deeply grateful.

“By hosting and sheltering the leader of al-Qaeda in Kabul, the Taliban grossly violated the Doha Agreement and repeated assurances to the world that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Afghan government has strongly condemned the drone strike and lodged strong protest over it.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement said the drone strike was blatant violation of international principles and Doha agreement.

The drone attack is the first known US strike inside Afghanistan since US troops and diplomats left the country in August 2021.

AFP adds: the US defence and intelligence officials finalised the plan in June and presented it to Biden in the White House on July 1, using a detailed model of the residence, as was done before the bin Laden raid.