The US on Saturday condemned an attack a day earlier on the Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan’s capital, in which a senior Pakistani diplomat escaped unhurt, but one of his guards was wounded, initiating a wave of anger throughout Pakistan.
Friday’s assault came amid rising tensions between the South Asian neighbors over Islamabad’s claims that anti-Pakistan government forces are organizing terrorist attacks from hideouts in Afghanistan.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack.
Photo: Reuters
Shots were fired at the embassy from a nearby building by one or more unknown assailants. Shortly after the shooting, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif wrote on Twitter that the attack was an “assassination attempt” against Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani.
Pakistan repatriated the wounded guard, Israr Mohammad, by helicopter, and he was being treated at a hospital on Saturday.
The embassy attack came days after Pakistani Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar held talks with Afghani Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul on a range of issues, including a threat from Pakistani Taliban who recently ended a months-long ceasefire with Pakistan and asked fighters to resume attacks across the country.
“We offer our sympathies and wish a quick recovery to those affected by the violence,” US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said on Friday.
The US is “deeply concerned by the attack on a foreign diplomat and we call for a full and transparent investigation,” he told reporters.
Muttaqi on Friday evening called Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to condemn the “terrorist attack” targeting Nizamani, according to a Pakistani statement.
Muttaqi assured Bhutto Zardari that “the Afghan government will bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice swiftly,” the statement said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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