Monday, October 19, 2009

Security Agents in Pakistan behind Terror Attack


Iran has received information that "some security agents" in Pakistan were cooperating with elements behind Sunday's attack on the Revolutionary Guards, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Ahmadinejad called on Pakistan not to waste time in cooperating with Iran in apprehending the perpetrators, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, Pakistan condemned the suicide bomb attack in Iran and denied suggestions from the Iranian president that "some security agents" in Pakistan were cooperating with the bombers.

Iranian state television said 42 people were killed in Sunday's attack on the elite Revolutionary Guards in the country's volatile southeast.

"Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities ... we are striving to eradicate this menace," foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told the Daily Times newspaper on Sunday.

Pakistan's prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the "ghastly act of terrorism" in predominantly Shi'ite Iran, Gilani's office said.

Iran has in the past accused Pakistan of hosting members of the Sunni insurgent group Jundollah, Iranian state television said. Iranian media said Jundollah claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing, which killed more than 30 people.

Some analysts believe Jundollah has evolved through shifting alliances with various parties, including the Taliban and Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, who saw the group as a tool against Iran.

"We were informed that some security agents in Pakistan are cooperating with the main elements of this terrorist incident ... We regard it as our right to demand these criminals from them," Ahmadinejad said, without giving details.

"We ask the Pakistani government not to delay any longer in the apprehension of the main elements in this terrorist attack," he said.

State television said Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned a senior Pakistani diplomat in Tehran, saying there was evidence "the perpetrators of this attack came to Iran from Pakistan."

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Pakistan ISI behind attack on Indian Embassy


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, 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 figure 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 attack taking place in Afghanistan," Jawad said.

While the Karzai government was quick to point figure towards foreign players in the attack on the Indian embassy early this week, this is for the first time that a top Afghan official has blamed the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI for the terror strike.

The Afghan government has also blamed the ISI in the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy which claimed 60 lives.

The Afghan Ambassador also supported the report of 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, reassign its strategy for the country.