Posted on 03/12/2006 6:19:44 PM PST by blam
Afghanistan in 'bomb plot' row with Pakistan
By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad
(Filed: 13/03/2006)
A former president of Afghanistan accused Pakistani military intelligence of trying to kill him in a suicide attack, intensifying an increasingly bitter row between the two countries.
Sibghatullah Mojaddidi, who is now in charge of a commission to encourage Taliban members to lay down their arms, was wounded in the attack yesterday that killed two bombers and two civilians.
The wreckage left by the bomb blast that narrowly missed the car carrying Mr Mojaddidi [right]
Mr Mojaddidi was being driven to work on a main road in Kabul when the attackers detonated a car laden with explosives near his vehicle.
Shortly after the attack, Mr Mojaddidi appeared at a news conference with bandages on his hands and blamed a Pakistani military intelligence agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
"We have got information that ISI of Pakistan has launched a plan to kill me," said Mr Mujaddidi.
Sibghatullah Mojaddidi
"What is my fault? My fault is that I am working for the peace and prosperity of Afghanistan," he added. "[Pakistan's president, Gen Pervez] Musharraf and ISI of Pakistan do not want Afghanistan to be safe and secure."
Pakistan's foreign ministry immediately rejected the charge. A spokesman said: "We condemn such attacks and loss of innocent lives wherever they happen. These are baseless allegations and we reject them completely."
Mr Mojaddidi's accusations of Pakistani involvement in the attack have further inflamed a diplomatic spat between the two neighbours, both key US allies in the war on terror, which was sparked by Afghan complaints that Pakistan must do more to curb terrorists who plan and launch attacks from sanctuaries in Pakistan's borderlands.
Pakistan, which officially ended its support for the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, says that it does all it can to stop cross-border movement by militants.
BTTT
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