The White House has said Pakistan ‘can and must’ do more against the terrorist groups operating in its soil, it has been reported.

Emphasizing that no state should allow its soil to be used by any terror group to launch attacks on other countries, a senior White House official has said “Recognising the sacrifices of the people and the security forces of Pakistan in fighting some militant and terrorist networks, a fight which we support, President Barack Obama has emphasised that Pakistan ‘can and must’ also take more effective action against terrorist groups operating from its soil.”

The official further added “The president has made it very clear that no state should allow its territory to be used by terrorists to launch attacks into another state, and we will continue to engage on this issue.”

The official was responding to an online petition, ‘We the People’, launched by Indians in the US that was signed by 665,769 people.

This comes as Pakistan has been accused of allowing certain militant groups to use its soil for planning and coordinating attacks in its neighboring states.

The officials have long been criticizing Pakistan for allowing the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist networks to openly operate in Pakistan.

According to the Afghan officials, the two militant groups are having leadership councils based in Peshawar and Quetta cities of Pakistan from where they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.