NSA blames ISI for July 7 suicide attack; Foreign Secretary visits Kabul; OIC condemns “criminal acts”; Obama: Indian Embassy attack an indication of the deteriorating security situation; ICRC: Over 250 civilians killed since July 4
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  • Aational Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan blamed Pakistan’s ISI for the deadly suicide bombing outside the Indian Embassy on July 7 which claimed over 40 lives, including that of the Defence Attache and a senior IFS officer1. Pakistan has however denied any involvement in the attack. The US, while condemning the attack, has declined to react to the charge of the Afghan authorities regarding Islamabad’s complicity in the blast. It has however extended all possible help to the Afghan and Indian authorities to determine the people responsible for the attack2. Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon also visited Kabul on July 13 to take stock of the situation and met President Hamid Karzai among others. Mr. Menon reiterated India’s commitment to the “partnership with Afghanistan3.”

    Condemnation of the blast continued to pour from various countries and organisations. OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu noted on July 8 that such “criminal acts” ran counter to the teachings of Islam and called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice4. US Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and noted that the blast was “one more indication of the severe deterioration” in the security situation in Afghanistan5.

    Reports noted that the July 7 incident was the latest in a series of attacks that Indian interests in the country were subjected to over the past year. In 2007 for instance, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) came under 30 rocket attacks. The BRO was involved in building the 124-mile road across Nimroz Province that would link Afghanistan to a seaport in Iran6.

    Meanwhile, reports indicated that 47 civilians were indeed killed in a US-led air strike in the eastern province of Nangarhar on July 6. A team comprising of representatives of the Afghan parliament, the provincial council, and the interior and defence ministries investigating the attack also noted that “there was no evidence of Taliban or Al Qaeda insurgents present near the area where the incident took place7.” The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also condemned the rising civilian casualties in the country. It pointed out that over 250 civilians had been killed since July 4, including the 44 killed in the Indian Embassy attack8.

    In other developments, even as the Afghan government launched a $404 million appeal to feed nearly 5 million Afghans facing starvation due to high food prices, drought and poor harvests, UN Special Envoy Kai Eide called on the international community to live up to its commitments for Afghanistan9.

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