KABUL (Pajhwok): Top Afghan and international leaders have vehemently denounced an overnight suicide bombing in Kabul.
At least 18 people were killed and more than 57 others wounded in the Islamic State-claimed attack in Dasht-i-Barchi area west of the nation’s capital.
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said ISIS Afghanistan shared the same “ideological gene”. He stressed the “rotten ideology” had to be eliminated — root and branch.
Patricia Gossman, Associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, tweeted: “Yet another senseless, cruel attack in Kabul. Civilians going about ordinary activities–walking down the street, sitting in lessons, or getting care in a hospital– continue to suffer sudden and terrifying violence. Why are their stories not told in the peace talks?”
Chairman of High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah, condemned bombing as a “terrorist attack” that was “against Islamic and human values.”
EU special representative for Afghanistan Roland Kobia said: “This and other recent attacks on provincial capitals illustrate the so-called ‘reduction in violence’. Enough.
“There must be full unity of the international community, plus massive pressure for an immediate ceasefire asked by all Afghans,” Kobia added.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission chairperson, Shaharzad Akbar, said the latest attack “drains every last ounce of energy and hope”.
Pakistan’s special envoy Mohammad Sadiq said Islamabad “condemns in the strongest possible terms the inhuman terrorist attack outside an educational centre in Kabul.”
The Presidential Palace also condemned as brutal terrorist attacks in various parts of the country. It regretted the loss of many innocent lives and injuries to many others, including children and women.
Also on Saturday, terrorist attacks happened in Kabul, Ghazni and on Kamal Khan dam. The Palace slammed recent attacks in Helmand, Ghor and Nimroz provinces, causing casualties and damage to public facilities.
The government called such acts against Islamic values and principles of humanity.
President Ashraf Ghani offered his profound sympathies to the families affected by these terrorist incidents, particularly those of security forces. He wished the wounded a quick recovery.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), too, condemned as barbaric the attack in Kabul.
“UNAMA shares Afghanistan’s deep revulsion at last night’s killing & injuring of more than 60 civilians, many of them youngsters, in a deliberate targeted attack at a Kabul college.”
It said: “Our condolences are with the families of the killed & hurt. Those responsible for the crime must be held to account. There violence must not be allowed to win. Everyone must re-double efforts to stem recent violence, especially that impacting Afghanistan’s civilians.”
sa/mud
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