Adelaide: Australia on August 28 said there was "irrefutable" proof that Pakistan was a source of terrorism and there had been support for terrorist outfits in the country for many years.

"Pakistan has been one of the sources of terrorism and Taleban really developed out of Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said when asked about visiting External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha's remarks in an Australian newspaper that "Pakistan is the epicentre of world terrorism".

"There has been support in Pakistan for terrorist organisations over many years. The evidence there is irrefutable," he said.

Downer said Australia was "very concerned" about boarding schools and private Islamic educational institutions being used as breeding grounds for people "who have gone on to become fundamentalists, extremists and in some cases terrorists".

"We certainly feel that along the Pak-Afghan border al-Qaida people are moving in and out. We would like Pakistan to take stronger action along that border to try to seal the border," Downer said.

PTI