India accuses Pakistani ISI over Kabul attack on Embassy

India: ISI behind embassy blast in Kabul
Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:46:51

India accuses Pakistan's spy agency, Inter Service Intelligence (ISI), of masterminding a deadly bombing at the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

"We not only suspect but we have a fair amount of intelligence (on the involvement of Pakistan), " the country's National Security Adviser M K Narayanan told Times Now news channel, the Press Trust of India reported. "The people of this country deserve to know the facts rather than being carried away by people who make statements that these are insinuations. There are no insinuations," he said. A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the embassy on July 7, killing scores of people.

The Indian Ambassador to Kabul said Sunday that the attack killed more than 60 people including two senior Indian diplomats. "Now there are over 60 Afghan nationals dead, besides our own losses of five," he was quoted as saying by AFP.  The embassy's military attaché, political counselor and two Indian guards were among the victims of the blast.

The Taliban has denied any involvement in the attack with the Afghan government also accusing the ISI of playing a role in the bombing. Narayanan has also said that India should retaliate for such acts. "I think we need to pay back in the same coin. We are quite clear in our mind." The attack comes amid efforts aimed at thawing diplomatic relations between the two rivals who have so far fought two wars. Pakistan's spy agency is accused of mentoring several terrorist groups and the country's neighbors complain that Islamabad is not doing enough to crackdown on militants who use the country as a safe haven.