Washington: Pakistan's intelligence agency
ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul which
killed 17 people and wounded more than 60 others, Afghan envoy
to the US has claimed.
"Yes, we do," Afghan Ambassador to the US Said T Jawad
told the PBS news channel in an interview when asked if he was
pointing the figure at Pakistan for the suicide bombing that
took place on Thursday.
"We are pointing the finger at the Pakistan
intelligence agency, based on the evidence on the ground and
similar attack taking place in Afghanistan," Jawad said.
While the Karzai government was quick to point figure
towards foreign players in the attack on the Indian embassy
early this week, this is for the first time that a top Afghan
official has blamed the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI for
the terror strike.
The Afghan government has also blamed the ISI in the
July 2008 attack on the Indian embassy which claimed 60 lives.
The Afghan ambassador also supported the report of
General Stanley McChrystal, commander of US and NATO forces in
Afghanistan, which recommends some 40,000 additional troops to
Afghanistan.
This is necessary to secure the country, Jawad said.
He said Afghanistan would like to have a clear
commitment to success from the Obama Administration, which is
currently, reassign its strategy for the country.
Additional troops are needed. The US engagement
should be long-term in Afghanistan, does not mean necessarily
military engagement," Jawad said, adding that some 30,000 to
40,000 more US troops are needed in his country.
The Afghan Ambassador also cautioned that at no point
of time the US should allow a sense of "retreat or defeat" as
this would send a wrong message to the terrorists and embolden
organisations like al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, October 10, 2009, 12:09