Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), has said early findings showed the Haqqani network, with the assistance of the Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s intelligence agency, carried out the attack on Wednesday in Kabul that killed at least 90 people.
“These terrorists once again proved they don’t represent any religion and they only carry out such coward attacks to please their Pakistani masters who are against all Islamic and human rights principals,” the NDS said in a statement.
Taliban denies role
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest in recent years. The Afghan Taliban denied any role in the blast and condemned the attack on civilians.
The Haqqani network has carried out a number of kidnappings and attacks against U.S. interests in Afghanistan. The group is also blamed for several attacks against Indian interests in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul that killed 58.
Pakistan, however, rejected as “baseless” the allegations. “The accusatory approach is unhelpful towards efforts to peace,” Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said during the weekly media briefing.
‘The highest stakes’
Mr. Zakaria said Pakistan suffered due to terrorism and has the highest stakes in Afghan peace and stability. “Our commitment to peace in Afghanistan is based on sincerity and is beyond any doubt,” he added.
Mr. Zakaria said it was highly disappointing that certain elements in Afghanistan were damaging relations between the two neighbours. He accused India of escalating tension on the border and committing ceasefire violations in order to divert attention from the Kashmir dispute.
“We intend to undertake concerted efforts to mobilise international community, particularly the UN, to take up the issue” of violence in Kashmir, he said.
