Hundreds of Afghans staged a protest on Saturday to denounce a wave of suicide bomb attacks, with many of the protesters blaming Pakistan for the violence. "We condemn these suicide attacks," protesters shouted outside the provincial governor's offices in the city of Ghazni. There have been 13 suicide blasts since November, the worst last Monday when 23 people were killed in the town of Spin Boldak, on the border with Pakistan. The government blames foreign al Qaeda and Taliban supporters for the violence. "The UN should stop Pakistan from interfering in Afghanistan," Qari Baba, a former governor of Ghazni province, told the crowd.The crowd also chanted: "Death to Pakistan, death to ISI."
Meanwhile, the governor of Afghanistan's troubled southern province of Kandahar once again accused Pakistan on Saturday of involvement in the Spin Boldak explosion, claiming ‘terrorists are being trained in the neighbouring country'.
Kandahar governor told a Pakistani private TV on phone from Kandahar that the enemies of Afghanistan's sovereignty, territorial integrity and stability were freely roaming around in Pakistan. "In the Frontier and Balochistan provinces, Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants have been allowed to take up residence. They are being trained at terrorist camps in these provinces with a view to disturbing peace in Afghanistan," he alleged. The governor reiterated the suicide attackers, who killed dozens of people in Kandahar, were Pakistani citizens. Condolences for the bombers were offered in Pakistan, asserted the governor, who hastened to point to his desire for good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. He argued Kabul had exercised a lot of patience and restraint so far just because of its yearning for warm ties with Islamabad. "We have conveyed our concerns to Pakistan formally and through diplomatic channels," he maintained.
Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed rejected allegations by Kandahar governor that Pakistan had hands in a recent bomb blast in the Afghan border town of Spinboldak. "Pakistan never backed the militant outfits," Rashid said when his attention was drawn towards allegations by Asadullah Khalid.
Rashid added Pakistan desirous of peace in Afghanistan, saying Pakistan has stationed 70,000 troops along the common border to curb the movement of militants. "We are obliged to answer only those queries or allegations the government of Afghanistan formally addresses to Pakistan. But no such accusations have reached us from Afghanistan - formally or through diplomatic channels," Rashid continued.
| And of course, I had to read the Peshawar Defender-Scimitar to find this news; the MSM is busy wringing its hands over a possible conservative win in Canada... |