'Same source' behind terrorism in India, Afghanistan: Afghan envoy's veiled attack on Pakistan

A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus who were on their way to meet with Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani.

New Delhi, July 2: Without naming Pakistan, Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, Dr Shaida Mohammad Abdali, on Monday said that although the deadly bomb blast in Jalalabad is being attributed to the Islamic State (IS), most of the terrorist activities in the country are "coming from across border".

Speaking to news agency ANI, Abdali termed the Jalalabad attack, which left 20 people including 10 Sikhs dead, as "extremely shocking", adding that it was an attack on "Afghan democracy, Afghan values, freedom of religion, faith and attack on our diversity".

"Attack has been claimed by Daish (IS) but fact is terrorism in Afghanistan is mostly coming from across border. Agencies will figure out whether this attack generated from across border or from some other place," he said.

"Afghanistan and India are victims of terrorism from the same sources and that's why they have to stand together with rest of the world to fight terrorism in order for the two of us to be freed from menace of terrorism attacking both nations," Abdali added.

A Sikh MP was among the 20 killed in the blast at Afghanistan's eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday evening (July 1). A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus who were on their way to meet with Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani. 17 out of 20 killed in the blast belonged to the Sikh and Hindu community.

The attack, responsibility of which was claimed by terror group ISIS, happened at a market located near the provincial governor's compound where President Ashraf Ghani was holding meetings.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack in strong words and said "India stands ready to assist Afghanistan government in this sad hour".

"We strongly condemn the terror attacks in Afghanistan y'day. They're an attack on Afghanistan's multicultural fabric. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover soon. India stands ready to assist Afghanistan govt in this sad hour," he tweeted.

Among those killed in Sunday's blast was Avtar Singh Khalsa, a Sikh leader who was set to contest in the Parliamentary elections slated for October. Khalsa would have been elected unopposed to the Lower House as the seat he was planning to contest was apportioned to the minority by a Presidential decree in 2016.