ISI behind attack on Indian embassy: Afghan envoy to US

"Yes, we do," Afghan Ambassador to the US Said T Jawad told the PBS news channel in an interview when asked if he was pointing the figure at Pakistan for the suicide bombing that took place on Thursday.

"We are pointing the finger at the Pakistan intelligence agency, based on the evidence on the ground and similar attack taking place in Afghanistan," Jawad said. While the Karzai Government was quick to point figure towards foreign players in the attack on the Indian embassy early this week, this is for the first time that a top Afghan official has blamed the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI for the terror strike.

The Afghan Government has also blamed the ISI in the July 2008 attack on the Indian Embassy which claimed 60 lives. The Afghan Ambassador also supported the report of General Stanley McChrystal, Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, which recommends some 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. This is necessary to secure the country, Jawad said.

He said Afghanistan would like to have a clear commitment to success from the Obama Administration, which is currently, reassign its strategy for the country. "Additional troops are needed. The US engagement should be long-term in Afghanistan, does not mean necessarily military engagement," Jawad said, adding that some 30,000 to 40,000 more US troops are needed in his country.

The Afghan Ambassador also cautioned that at no point of time the US should allow a sense of "retreat or defeat" as this would send a wrong message to the terrorists and embolden organisations like al-Qaeda and the Taliban