Kabul urges Pakistan to contain militants

"There are elements on Pakistani soil who train terrorist elements, equip them and send them to Afghanistan. They should be prevented at any cost. As long as they exist, terrorism and insecurity will continue," said President Hamid Karzai's spokesman Jawed Ludin.

Ludin said key leaders of the Taliban Islamic militia, which has waged an insurgency against Afghanistan's current rulers since it was ousted from Kabul, were sheltering in Pakistan.

He questioned how Pakistan's private GEO television had broadcast an interview with a Taliban leader last week, alleging that Osama bin Laden was alive, without the knowledge of the government.

"The leaders of the Taliban regime, especially those who are notorious for manslaughter and terrorism, they are now in Pakistan," Ludin added.

The spokesman said progress had been made in the fight against "terror" between Afghanistan and Pakistan but more needed to be done.

"Afghanistan of course is suffering (from terrorism). Our people are dying and our schools are getting burned, our mosques are getting blown up, our clergy, our mullahs are getting assassinated," said Ludin, adding that the problems were worst in areas which bordered Pakistan.

Afghan intelligence officials said Monday they had arrested three Pakistanis armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades who had planned to kill US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad as he toured the eastern province of Laghman to inaugurate reconstruction projects.

The trio were waiting for suicide vests packed with explosives to be shipped from Pakistan but they never arrived, so they were told to carry out the assassination with the weapons they had, officials said.