Hamid Karzai blamed Pakistani extremists on Wednesday for an attack on Shi'ites in Kabul that killed 55 people, demanding justice from the government in Islamabad. By blaming Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Karzai threatens to increase tensions with Pakistan just days after Islamabad boycotted the Bonn conference on Afghanistan's future.Karzai said, "We will pursue this issue with Pakistan and its government very seriously," as he visited wounded survivors of the attack after cancelling a planned trip to Britain and rushing home from Germany.
There have been reports of a claim from Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, which is linked to Al-Qaeda and blamed for killing thousands of Shias in Pakistan but not previously believed to have attacked within Afghanistan.
Karzai said, "Lashkar-i-Jhangvi is based in Pakistan, therefore the government of Afghanistan with all its strength and international support will pursue this issue, Afghanistan cannot ignore the blood of its children."
His spokesman said that Karzai will "demand Pakistan take executive measuresÂ… so that justice can be done".
Afghan officials fear that TuesdayÂ’s killings in Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif could trigger sectarian violence ahead of the scheduled departure of Nato combat troops in 2014.
On Wednesday, another 19 people died in a roadside bombing in Helmand province, bringing to 78 the number of people killed in just over 24 hours. Four people were killed near a mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif.