Embassy attack hardens Afghan mistrust of Pakistan

By Hamid Shalizi

KABUL (Reuters) - Ordinary Afghans' mistrust of the Pakistani military and its spies deepened on Tuesday in the wake of a suicide car bomb attack outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul which killed 41 people and wounded 139.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani spoke of his country's goodwill towards Afghanistan while visiting Malaysia, but Afghans' suspicions of their interfering neighbour and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency were running high.

"We know that Pakistan's ISI has orchestrated the attack on the Indian embassy because good relations between Afghanistan and India are not in Pakistan's interest," said student Nadir Shah a day after the attack in the centre of the Afghan capital.

"India plays a key role in building Afghanistan's infrastructure and is working on many vital projects for the people, whereas Pakistan wants to deter India by using Taliban to kill them and end their mission," he added.

The Afghan government has yet to level a direct accusation at Pakistan, though a spokesman on Tuesday said the attack bore the "hallmarks of a particular intelligence agency".

"I am not going to name it. I think it is pretty obvious," said spokesman Humayun Hamidzada.

Afghan state-run newspapers were less circumspect.

"The enemy is ISI of Pakistan, who fights on different fronts against Afghans and tries to fish in muddy waters through planning subversive attacks in Afghanistan," the Kabul Times said in an editorial.