Pak behind consulate attack, say Af Police

Revelations to strengthen case against Islamabad

A senior Afghan Police officer on Tuesday stated that Pakistan Army personnel were responsible for the recent attack on Consulate General of India at Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan.

Sayed Kamal Sadat, chief of police in Balkh province of Afghanistan, not only revealed that Pakistan Army personnel had been involved with the attack on the Consulate General of India in the provincial capital Mazar-e-Sharif, but also expressed his strong suspicion that the attackers themselves might belonged to the military establishment of the neighbouring country.

The revelations by Sadat is likely to strengthen New Delhi’s case against Islamabad, as it brings to light the role of Pakistan’s “state actors” in attacks on Indian interests in Afghanistan.

“We saw with our own eyes and I can say (with) 99 per cent (certainty) that those attackers were from Pakistani military and used special tactics while conducting their operation (attack on Consulate General of India,” Afghan media portal Tolo News quoted Sadat saying on Tuesday. “The attackers were military personnel. They were educated and well prepared and had intelligence. They fought us and only by Allah's grace were we able to control them and eliminate them,” added Sadat.

Heavily-armed terrorists launched an attack on the Consulate General of India (CGI) at Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan late at night on January 3. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, deployed to guard the CGI, secured the premises of the diplomatic mission. The terrorist took position in a nearby building and opened fire on the CGI. It took the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) soldiers 25 hours to gun down all the terrorists.

One ANDSF soldier was killed during the operation, while nine others were injured. No official of the CGI was hurt. The terrorists scribbled “Afzal Guru Ka Inteqam” (Revenge for Afzal Guru) in Urdu on the wall of the kitchen on the fourth floor of the building they had taken position in. The words indicated that the attack was to avenge execution of 2001 Indian Parliament attack conspirator Afzal Guru.