Afghanistan

Pakistan denies involvement with Indian embassy bombing

Article published on the 2008-07-07 Latest update 2008-07-08 11:35 TU

The scene in Kabul following Monday's explosion
(Photo: Reuters)

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousouf Raza Gilani has rejected rumours that his country was behind Monday's suicide car-bomb attack on the Indian embassy in Afghanistan. An Afghan security report says that the blast, which killed 41 people and injured nearly 150, could not have been carried out without "the full support of foreign intelligence".

Gilani told a meeting of developing world leaders in Malaysia that Pakistan has "suffered the most" from political violence and pledged to fight it with an "iron fist".

He said that he had not idea who was behind the Indian embassy attack, in which a car was driven into the car of an Indian diplomat and exploded, killing him and his Afghan driver.

The Indonesian embassy was also damaged in the attack and two Indonesian diplomats were injured. The bomb destroyed several cars in the area and exploded shop windows hundreds of metres away.

India is a close ally of Afghanistan and both countries have a tense relationship with Pakistan, which Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused of supporting Taliban insurgents.

A spokesman for the Taliban denied responsibility for the bomb attack which struck the embassy in the heart of Kabul. India has vowed to continue with its "commitment to the government and people of Afghanistan".

Many of the dead were Afghans queuing outside the embassy for visas. Seven Afghan security officials were also killed in the attack.

The attack has been condemned by the European Commission, by Bangladesh and also by the White House.