Karzai slams Pakistan over attacks by militants

Deadliest such assault since September

Leader tells Islamabad to cooperate in eliminating ‘terror nests’ after Taliban fighters kill 21 troops and kidnap seven in border raid

ASADABAD, AFGHANISTAN // The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has criticised Pakistan for failing to eliminate “terror nests” after the Taliban killed 21 soldiers and kidnapped seven in a raid on a border outpost yesterday.

The attack in the eastern province of Kunar was the deadliest strike on Afghan troops in recent months by the insurgents, and caused Mr Karzai to cancel a planned two-day visit to Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan and Pakistan regularly accuse each other of supporting militant attacks in the two countries. Mr Karzai’s comments came days after Islamabad said 23 of its kidnapped paramilitary soldiers had been killed on Afghan soil.

“During this insurgents’ attack on an Afghan army checkpoint, 21 Afghan national army soldiers were martyred, three wounded,” said the defence ministry spokesman, Gen Zahir Azimi.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Reinforcements were sent to the area to hunt for the attackers and free the kidnapped troops, but the Taliban appeared to have been waiting for them.

The reinforcements “came under enemy attack and a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near them”, said Gen Azimi. The suicide bomber did not kill any Afghan soldiers.

In a possible reference to Al Qaeda or other militants who might not be part of the Afghan Taliban, Gen Azimi said “foreign fighters” had taken part in the attack.

A senior Afghan interior ministry official said more than 100 militants “coming from the other side of the border” were involved in the operation.

He said the authorities were investigating whether this attack was linked to the killing of the Pakistani soldiers. Mr Karzai demanded action from Pakistan.

“President Karzai once again called on Pakistan’s government that terrorism is a serious threat against both countries and demanded Pakistan to seriously and strongly cooperate with the government of Afghanistan, and take serious action in eliminating terror nests,” his office said.

The Kunar provincial governor, Shujah-Ul Mulk Jalala, said some of the soldiers in the post were thought to have aided the Taliban.

This could not be confirmed and the Taliban did not mention insider help. “The mujahideen overran a key enemy outpost in an assault last night in Ghaziabad,” said the Taliban, calling the Afghan troops hirelings.

Yesterday’s assault was the worst such attack since September, when Taliban insurgents attacked a convoy of Afghan forces in relatively peaceful northern Badakhshan province, killing at least 18 of them.

The attack took place as United States and Nato forces withdrew from Afghanistan ahead of the year- end deadline, shifting the bulk of the fight against Taliban and other militants to Afghans.

While Afghanistan’s police and army are seen as having made big strides in their ability to fight militants, doubts remain about whether they can keep a still-potent Taliban at bay, especially in places such as Kunar.

It remained unclear whether the US and allied nations would keep a small force in Afghanistan after this year to support Afghan forces and go after Al Qaeda because of Mr Karzai’s refusal to sign a USAfghan pact authorising a future troop presence.

In a separate statement yesterday, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group’s reclusive leadership, believed to be based in Pakistan, had suspended attempts to arrange an exchange of Taliban fighters locked up for years in a US prison for a US soldier in militant custody.

In an effort to foster peace talks, US officials recently took steps they hoped might revive discussions with Taliban representatives about the proposed transfer of up to five Taliban detainees out of Guantanamo Bay prison in exchange for the return of Bowe Bergdahl. Mr Bergdahl went missing in Afghanistan in 2009 and is believed to be held by Talibanlinked militants in north- west Pakistan.

“Due to the political complexity of the current situation in the country, the leadership of the Islamic Emirate has decided to suspend the issue for some time,” Mr Mujahid said, using the name the Taliban gave their 1996-2001 government.

“Therefore, the prisoner exchange process has been delayed until further notice.”