June 26, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 21, 1429

KABUL, June 25: Afghanistan’s intelligence agency on Wednesday accused its Pakistani counterpart, ISI, of masterminding an assassination bid on President Hamid Karzai in April.

The Afghan president survived the April 27 attack at the annual military parade, but three Afghans were killed, one of them a parliamentarian.

Sayed Ansari, spokesman for the national intelligence agency, said his organisation believed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence was involved.

“The investigations, the documents we found and the confession of suspects arrested show the real schemer and organiser ... of the terrorist attack is the ISI,” he told reporters.

The statement came a day after Mr Karzai’s spokesman made a similar accusation.

“Evidence shows the hallmark of a particular foreign intelligence agency which we believe was behind this attack,” Karzai’s spokesman Homayun Hamidzada said on Tuesday, citing an investigation into the incident.

He refused to name the foreign country or the spy organisation.

However, Mr Ansari claimed cell phones seized from the rebels involved in the attack showed the militants had “constant contacts” with bases across the border with Pakistan.

The spokesman said eight of the 16 people arrested over suspected links to the attackers were government employees. He did not give details, but authorities had earlier said a defence ministry weapons expert and a police nurse were arrested for allegedly facilitating the attack.

Pakistan denies that its intelligence agencies have links to the insurgents.—AFP