US GIVES PAK LIST OF 20 TERROR OUTFITS

The US has shared with Pakistan a list of 20 terrorist groups – such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harakatul Mujahideen -that Washington believes are operating from its soil and targeting India and Afghanistan, a media report said on Thursday.

At the top of the list is the Haqqani network which, the US says, has safe havens in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in north-western Pakistan and uses them to launch attacks into Afghanistan, the Dawn reported.

The list includes three types of militant groups: Those who launch attacks into Afghanistan, those who attack targets inside Pakistan and those who are focused on Kashmir, the newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying.

Pakistan lost no time in describing as “baseless” the US claims that it provides safe havens for terrorists and said that America should refrain from making “unfounded assertions”. Foreign Office spokesperson Muhammad Faisal during a briefing said that Pakistan “has

contributed with both blood and treasure in the fight against terrorism. We reject baseless allegations of safe havens. We have repeatedly conveyed to the US leadership that it should refrain from making unfounded assertions,” he said.

When asked about Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's remarks that the US has given Pakistan another chance to fight terrorist safe havens on its territory, Faisal said Pakistan has made significant gains through its effective counter-terrorism operations.

Tillerson, who also visited Afghanistan and India last week, had unequivocally responded to questions on Pakistan's co-operation in the fight against terrorism. "Pakistan lives with two very unstable borders, one with Afghanistan, one with India and our message to them is -- You have to begin to create greater stability inside your country and that means denying safe haven to any of these organisations that launch attacks from your territory," Tillerson had said.