ISLAMABAD: The National Security Committee Thursday demanded an immediate US military effort to eliminate sanctuaries harbouring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil and rejected the notion that India could be the net security provider in the South Asia region.

The committee while rejecting specific allegations and insinuations against Pakistan by US President Donald Trump, said the country had an abiding interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“Scapegoat[ing] Pakistan will not help in stabilizing Afghanistan,” a strong statement issued at the end of the meeting said.

The meeting of the National Security Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi here at the PM Office, after a threadbare discussion on the Trump Administration’s South Asia Strategy categorically stated that “the Afghan war cannot be fought in Pakistan.”

The statement issued at the end of the marathon session attended by the Services Chiefs and senior cabinet members, said: “More specifically, we would like to see effective and immediate US military efforts to eliminate sanctuaries harbouring terrorists and miscreants on the Afghan soil, including those responsible for fomenting terror in Pakistan.”