https://arab.news/9p437
- The acting foreign minister of Afghanistan called Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to condemn the incident
- Pakistan says its 'top most priority' is the security of members of its diplomatic mission in Kabul
ISLAMABAD: A senior Afghan official condemned an attack on Pakistan's diplomatic mission in Kabul during a phone call with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday while promising to bring people responsible for it to justice.
The Pakistani authorities said there had been an assassination attempt against their top diplomat in Afghanistan after the country's embassy came under attack on Friday.
While the head of mission, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, remained unhurt in the attack, a Pakistani security guard was "critically injured" and later flown to Peshawar for medical treatment.
Afghanistan's acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi expressed shock at the incident during the phone call while conveying his best wishes to the injured security guard.
"Reiterating his country's firm resolve to combat terrorism, Foreign Minister Muttaqi assured [Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari] that the Afghan government will bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice swiftly," said a statement issued by the foreign office.
Earlier, Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq highlighted the tough circumstances in which his country's diplomats were working in the neighboring state.
"Our top most priority is the security of members of our mission," he said in a Twitter post. "First and foremost, the Afghan Interim Government will need to beef up the security of our Embassy and its personnel."
Sadiq noted the Pakistan government would also "provide necessary resources to further enhance security of our diplomats to ensure continued and effective discharge of duties by them in the most important foreign Capital for Pakistan."
While it is still not clear who was behind Friday's attack, Pakistan's interior minister Rana Sanaullah recently pointed out that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a proscribed militant network, had been enjoying "all sorts of facilities in Afghanistan."
Sanaullah's statement came after a recent suicide bombing in the southwestern Balochistan province that targeted police personnel providing security to polio workers.
The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack in Balochistan, making the Pakistani minister say that it should be "a matter of concern" for the government in Kabul since the top leadership of the group was hiding in Afghanistan.