The suicide attack near the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad killed 11 people including eight civilians. 22 civilians were injured. Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid called Zalmai Rassoul and expressed condolences with families of victims. The Foreign Ministry says Afghanistan considers India its closest ally and a strategic partner, and will expand and improve cooperation and relations with India in the months and years ahead.
An investigation has been launched and no group has claimed responsibility. But Indian and Afghan intelligence officials suspect the Haqqani Network. The National Directorate of Security (NDS) has also confirmed that they have arrested 52 insurgents of Pakistani nationality over the period of last four months. Several terror attacks have been preemptively foiled. The Directorate says attack plots on National Assembly, the Ministry of Finance, a department of the NDS and Kabul Serena Hotel have been prevented in recent months.
The US strongly condemned the attack in Jalalabad saying “the attack strengthens our resolve to continue our important work with our Afghan and international partners to build a secure, prosperous future for the people of Afghanistan."
Despite some spectacular attacks, Taliban have failed to carry out large successful attacks in Kabul, where they have tasked a special attack-unit to launch worst strikes this summer. According to intelligence reports, the special unit headed by a commander in Peshawar has been tasked show maximum Taliban strength.
Last month, Kabul witnessed some of the deadliest attacks, including the one inside the Presidential Palace. The security agencies need to stay on high alert due to the recent jail breaks in Pakistan resulting in release of hundreds of notorious terrorist commanders. It would certainly have an impact of rise in attacks inside Afghanistan.
The utter disregard of Taliban for innocent civilian lives in these deadly attacks show their true face—a terror group that wants to impose itself on the people of Afghanistan. They want to force people to submission through terror. Taliban still dream about taking over Afghanistan and implement their brand of inhumane extremism. The Government’s mantra of talks will make no progress and eventually everything will be back to the pre-2009 state.