WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul which killed 17 people and wounded more than 60 others, the Afghan envoy to the US has claimed.

‘Yes, we do,’ Afghan Ambassador to the US Said T Jawad told the PBS news channel in an interview when asked if he was pointing the finger at Pakistan for the suicide bombing that took place on Thursday.

‘We are pointing the finger at the Pakistan intelligence agency, based on the evidence on the ground and similar attacks taking place in Afghanistan,’ Jawad said. While the Karzai government was quick to point the figure towards foreign players in the attack on the Indian embassy early this week, this is the first time that a top Afghan official has blamed the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI for the terror strike. The Afghan Government had also blamed the ISI in the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy which claimed 60 lives.

The Afghan ambassador also supported the report by General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, which recommends some 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. This is necessary to secure the country, Jawad said. He said Afghanistan would like to have a clear commitment to success from the Obama Administration, which is currently reassessing its strategy for the country.—Online