Islamabad (TDI): Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has condemned the bomb blast at a Chinese restaurant in Kabul, Afghanistan which has resulted in the loss of at least seven lives, including a Chinese national.
Another Chinese national is among the dozen who were injured in the incident. Reports suggest that Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
President Zardari, in his message, expressed “deep grief” over the casualties and extended condolences to the families of the victims. He also expressed solidarity with the Chinese nationals in Afghanistan.
The blast occurred on Monday in the Chinese Noodle restaurant in the famous Shahr-e-Naw area of the capital of Afghanistan. The spokesperson of the Kabul Police, Khalid Zadran, said that the explosion happened near the restaurant’s kitchen.
The Pakistani President, while expressing grief and sorrow over the incident, further noted the courage of Chinese nationals who are working in Afghanistan despite all the risks involved.
He also said that the Afghan Taliban have failed to translate the spirit of the Doha Agreement of 2020, and cannot protect foreign nationals in their country, all the while allowing their country to be used in terrorism inside other countries.
Read More: Pakistan Condemns Drone Attack on Chinese Workers in Tajikistan
This sentiment resonates with Pakistan’s ire toward the Taliban-led regime in Afghanistan, whose takeover saw an uptick in terrorist incidents in the northwest of Pakistan.
“Pakistan has repeatedly stressed that no terrorist groups should be allowed safe havens in Afghanistan and that regional peace and security must be upheld,” the President was quoted saying in a media handout.
He also recalled the recent and ongoing clashes at the border that Afghanistan shares with Tajikistan. In November last year, an attack originating from Afghanistan took the life of three Chinese nationals working in the border are of Tajikistan.
Since then, the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border has been volatile and Tajik border forces frequently report incursions from the Afghan side. In the event of the Kabul blast, China has asked its citizens in Tajikistan’s border area to relocate for safety.
President Zardari remarked that the absence of a ” broad based and inclusive government” has led to this situation arising in Afghanistan, which is as much of an imminent threat to its neighbors and the region.
