Kabul, July 17: Four people have been arrested in the ransacking last week of the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul, Interior Minister Ali Ahmed Jalali said today. "We have four people in custody. These people have confessed that they planned and carried out the attack, they came with a clear intention to attack the embassy," the minister told reporters without naming the defendants.
"The people who attacked the embassy had come with the intention of violence. They did not have permission from the ministry of interior or security forces for the demonstration." A mob protesting the alleged intrusion by Pakistani border forces into Afghan territory stormed the embassy on July 8, damaging furniture and fixtures.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai telephoned his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf the following day to apologize for, and condemn, the incident. Jalali said the demonstration on the whole had been peaceful, with only a small group "unfortunately" taking the protest to another more violent and destructive level.
The 80 policemen patrolling the area "were unable to control the mob."
Pakistan closed its embassy and demanded compensation from the Afghan government, to which Karzai agreed.
Jalali said police had completed the investigation and now the prosecution would file a case against the accused in the court. Bureau Report