BRUSSELS - Speaking ahead of a defense ministers meeting in Brussels, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said that the alliance is committed to combatting terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan and will not allow Afghanistan to become a safe haven for them. 
NATO’s mission and presence in Afghanistan is aimed at combating terrorist groups operating there, said Stoltenberg.
Meanwhile, the UN has said that the terrorists waging war against the Afghan people are getting political, moral and financial support from outside the country.
“The purpose of that operation is to fight terrorism. The reason why we are in Afghanistan is to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for international terrorists and there are many different international terrorist groups today in Afghanistan,” said Stoltenberg.
NATO is expected to convene its defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday where the alliance will discuss the overall security situation in the world including the situation in Afghanistan.
“The reason why we decided to continue to stay in Afghanistan with 13,000 troops to train, assist and advise the Afghan national army and security forces is to enable them to fight terrorism, is to enable them to stabilize their own country,” Stoltenberg said.
Amid the controversy over Pakistan’s double standard policy on terrorism, Pakistan’s permanent envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi said that the terrorists were forced out of Pakistan during ‘Zarb-e-Azb operation’. 
“Over the past four years, Pakistan has adopted a multipronged strategy, and a military-led operation called Zarb-e-Azb has successfully destroyed terrorist infrastructures,” said Lodhi.
In addition, Iranian envoy to the UN called for wider international engagement against terrorist organizations.
“Attacks in Turkey, Iraq, Brussels, Afghanistan and some African countries are most recent terrorist attacks targeting critical infrastructure” said Iranian permanent representative to the UN Ghulam Ali Khoshro.
He said terrorism was a major threat to international peace and called on all countries to join hands to defeat the menace of terrorism in the world.
This comes at a time that Pakistan has been accused of harboring terrorists and allowing them to have training camps in their country.
But, the Pakistan envoy to the UN said that the Pakistani security forces have inflicted major blows to the terrorists and that they have been pushed out of Pakistan.
This comes amid a deterioration in security in Afghanistan.
A recent UN report stated this week that more than 25,000 civilians have been killed in the country since 2009. (Tolonews)