The US State Department on Thursday asked the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to ensure that Afghanistan is not used to support terrorist groups, movement of terrorists or acts of terrorism.

A State Department spokesman told Geo News that Washington has “been very clear that we will judge the Taliban (IEA) by what they do, not what they say.”

“The Taliban (IEA) wants international legitimacy. This requires the Taliban (IEA) to meet their commitments to the international community,” the official said.

The spokesperson said the most enduring interest for the US in Afghanistan was to ensure that it never again became a safe haven for terrorists, especially for those who wished harm to the US or its partners or allies.

“We are in regular communication with Pakistani leaders as a part of our partnership on counterterrorism issues. We continue to discuss Afghanistan in detail, including through our annual counterterrorism dialogue and other bilateral consultations,” the official said.

Islamabad has time and again urged Kabul to take meaningful action against terrorists using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan.

However, the IEA has repeatedly rejected claims of militant groups in the country and have said they will not allow any group to threaten a country from Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, the Pakistan Army’s top commanders were briefed on how terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan pose a threat to regional and global security, besides acting as proxies against Pakistan and its economic interests, especially the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

A day ago, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said security forces had killed seven terrorists trying to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the North Waziristan district.

In a statement, the military’s media wing had said the security forces on April 16 had detected a movement of a group of seven terrorists near the border in the Spinkai area of Ghulam Khan in the tribal district, Pakistan’s The News reported.