Pakistan 'strongly condemns' suicide attack at Kabul education center

We extend our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to families of the victims, says FO

Pakistan condemned “in the strongest possible terms” a suicide attack at an education centre in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul that killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens on Saturday.

“We extend our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims and pray for early recovery of those injured,” the foreign office said in a statement hours after the attack.

The FO statement reiterated that Islamabad condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and will continue to support a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.

#Pakistan strongly condemns the inhuman terrorist attack outside an educational center in #Kabul today that resulted in loss of innocent lives.

We extend our heartfelt sympathies & condolences to families of victims & pray for early recovery of injured. 1/2@mfa_afghanistan

— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) October 24, 2020

A Taliban spokesperson on Twitter denied responsibility for the attack, which came at a sensitive time as teams for the insurgents and government meet in Qatar to seek a peace deal even as violence rises and the United States withdraws troops.

A Ministry of Interior spokesperson, Tariq Arian, cited security guards as identifying a bomber who detonated explosives in the street outside the Kawsar-e Danish educational centre.

The attack came in an area of west Kabul that is home to many from the Shia community, a minority in Afghanistan targeted by groups such as Islamic State in the past.

In the same area of Kabul, dozens of students died in an attack on another education centre in 2018, while in May gunmen attacked a maternity ward, killing 24, including mothers and babies.

(With input from Reuters)