Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Saturday responded to President Hamid Karzai`s accusation that a suicide attacker who targeted the Afghan spy chief had come from Pakistan by saying that Kabul should share any information it has to back up the allegation.
"Before levelling charges, the Afghan government would do well if they shared information or evidence with the government of Pakistan that they might have with regard to the cowardly attack on the head of the NDS (National Directorate of Security)," Foreign Office spokesman Moazzam Khan said in a statement.
Khan further said that Afghan authorities should also probe possible lapses in the security for Afghan spy chief Assadullah Khalid, who was attacked in Kabul on Thursday by a Taliban suicide bomber posing as a peace envoy.
"They (the Afghan government) would also do well by ordering an investigation into any lapses in the security arrangements around the NDS chief," Khan said.
The Pakistan government is "ready to assist any investigation of this criminal act", he said.
Pakistan yesterday condemned the attack on the Afghan spy chief and reiterated its commitment to efforts to usher in peace and stability in war-torn Afghanistan.
Pakistan had also said yesterday that it would "continue to work closely with Afghanistan to eliminate" terrorism.
Karzai said earlier today that the suicide bombing that injured the spy chief was planned in Pakistan. He said Afghan officials were certain the suicide bomber came from Pakistan.
The Afghan President further said he would raise the issue when he meets Pakistani leaders at a trilateral summit in Turkey next week but stopped short of blaming the Pakistan government.
Karzai did not provide any evidence to support his allegations.
Khalid is in a stable condition in a US-run military
hospital near Kabul after the Taliban assassination attempt.
Last year, Afghan High Peace Council chief Burhanuddin Rabbani was assassinated by a bomber posing as a Taliban peace envoy with explosives hidden in his turban.
Afghan officials had then alleged that the bomber had come from Pakistan, a charge that was denied by Islamabad.
PTI
