Afghan Ex-President survives bomb, blames Pakistan

KABUL, Mar 12 (Reuters) A former Afghan president who heads a commission trying to encourage Taliban defections was slightly wounded in a suicide car bomb attack today that officials said killed two bombers and two civilians.

Sibghatullah Mojadidi, who also chairs the upper house of parliament, or Senate, was being driven on a busy main road when attackers detonated a car laden with explosives near his vehicle.

He appeared at a news conference with bandages on his hands which he said covered burns caused by the blast and blamed neighbouring Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for the attempt on his life.

''We had received intelligence from six channels that some individuals had entered Afghanistan to kill me by any possible means,'' he said.

''Our biggest enemy today is Pakistan's ISI,'' he said adding that the network ''was behind all of the attacks'' carried out by Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's foreign ministry rejected the charge.

''We condemn such attacks and loss of innocent lives wherever they happen,'' said spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam. ''These are baseless allegations and we reject them completely.

Mojadidi's comments follow repeated complaints by Afghanistan's government that militants plan and organise attacks from sanctuaries inside Pakistan.

Pakistan, which officially ended its support for the Taliban after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, says it does all it can to stop cross-border movement by militants.

Two vehicles in Mojadidi's convoy were damaged in the blast about 500 metres (yards) from Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel, which completely destroyed the car containing the explosives.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said two suicide attackers and two civilians were killed.

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