LAHORE: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday phoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and informed him that in an action taken by the coalition forces a few days back Umar Naray, the mastermind of the Army Public School (APS) massacre, was killed along with four accomplices.

The Afghan leader said the APS mas-sacre was a great tragedy for Pakistan and the world, and the perpetrators got the ultimate response.

Mr Ghani also inquired about the health of prime minister, who underwent open-heart surgery in May in London.

The prime minister thanked the Afghan president on the elimination of terrorists of the outlawed Tehreek-iTaliban Pakistan from Afghan soil, responsible for the APS tragedy, said an of ficial statement issued here.

He said Pakistan had been fighting against terrorism and was fully committed to eliminating the last terrorist from its soil.

While doing so, Pakistan`s securityforces had given unequalled sacrifices, he added.

`I will lead the campaign to eliminate every terrorist from the soil of my country. Terrorism is a common threat for both the countries and must be eliminated through better coordination,` said the prime minister.

On July 13, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement that the Commander of the Resolute Support Mission General John Nicholson phoned Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif and confirmed the death of Umar Naray alias Khalifa Umar alias Khalid Khurasani in Afghanistan.The two statements, however, did not mention the fact that a US drone targeted the notorious terrorist in the Bandar area of Afghanistan`s Nangarhar province on July 9.

The Dec 16, 2014 APS massacre in Peshawar in which 144 students and teachers were killed was masterminded by Naray. He was also responsible for the Sept 2015 attack on a Pakistan Air Force base in Peshawar`s Badaber area in which 29 people were killed.

He was also behind the Bacha Khan University attack in Charsadda in January in which 18 students and faculty members lost their lives.