ISI officer involved in Kabul parliament attack, claims Afghan intelligence
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KABUL: Afghanistan's intelligence service says a Pakistani intelligence officer helped the Taliban carry out an attack on parliament earlier this week.
Afghan intelligence services spokesman Hassib Sediqqi said Wednesday that the officer in Inter-Services Intelligence helped the Haqqani network carry out the attack outside parliament in Kabul, which killed two people and wounded more than 30 as lawmakers were meeting inside.
Take a look: Brazen Taliban attack on Afghan parliament kills two.
Sediqqi said the suicide car bomb used in Monday's attack was manufactured in Peshawar, adding that Afghan authorities were made aware of the attack on June 10 and had deployed extra security.
Afghan-Pakistani relations had improved in recent months following years of mistrust, during which each country accused the other of supporting militants operating along their porous border.
Almost a month ago, ISI and the Aghan intelligence agency— National Directorate of Security (NDS)— signed a landmark deal aimed at bolstering the fight against terrorism.
Know more: ISI, Afghan intelligence in landmark deal.
Under the agreement, the two intelligence agencies would cooperate in counter-terrorism operations. An essential element of the accord was a provision for joint probe of terrorism suspects. The ISI would also equip the NDS and train its personnel.
At that time, a Pakistan government official had said that the signing of the agreement represented the new-found trust between Islamabad and Kabul, particularly between their security and intelligence establishments.
When contacted, Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah rejected the allegation on ISI, saying that this was not the first time such claims had been made by Afghanistan's intelligence personnel.
The FO spokesman said Pakistan's policy vis-a-vis Afghanistan was clear, adding that the two brotherly countries shared a common enemy, a sentiment which has been earlier expressed by PM Nawaz Sharif and army chief General Raheel Sharif.
Pakistan had vehemently condemned Monday's attack on the Afghan legislature, he said, and will continue to support its neighbour in the war against terror.
