Afghanistan's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah lauded India's efforts in reconstructing the war-torn Afghanistan that has been fighting terrorism for decades even as he slammed Pakistan for creating safe havens for terrorist organisations.

"There are groups based in Pakistan which are threading the security of Afghanistan that continue to receive support and continue to embark upon destabilising activities and acts of terror in Afghanistan. That is a very a serious challenge for us and the whole region," Abdullah said during his address at the ICWA here on Friday.

Abdullah is on a two-day visit to India to attend a 'India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Show' organised in collaboration with the USAID.

He said Afghanistan's stability and prospering is in the interest of the entire South Asian region. He said his country never had any ill-designs for any of its neighbouring countries.

"We have extended and we will continue to extend hands of friendship to all its neighbours and countries of the region," he added.

He assured that Afghanistan will never use terrorism as a tool to conduct its foreign policy.

Taking a sharp dig at neighbouring Pakistan, the Afghan Chief Executive said that his country has learnt some hard lessons in the past when some of terrorist groups were created for other purposes turned against those who created them posing a threat.

However, he noted India's unprecedented economic and humanitarian aid to the country that now amounts to about $3 billion.

"Relations between India and Afghanistan, which are founded in the bonds of history and culture of both nations, have been strengthened in the past 16 years with your generous contributions that made a difference to lives of millions of (Afghan) people," he said.

Abdullah was supposed to arrive in India on Wednesday, but due to a rocket attack at Kabul airport his trip got delayed.

"But I was determined to come. Terrorist attacks may have caused us some delay but they could not stop us," he said.

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