Kabul, February 8:
Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defence has strongly rejected Pakistan’s claims linking the deadly mosque attack in Islamabad to Afghan territory, calling the allegations “irresponsible and baseless.” The statement urged Pakistani authorities to address internal security shortcomings rather than blaming Afghanistan, local media reported.
The response comes after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif posted on X that preliminary findings indicated the attacker had traveled to and from Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s ministry criticized Asif for hastily attributing the attack to Afghanistan “without proper investigation,” highlighting a pattern seen in past incidents, including security breaches in Balochistan.
“The connection of such attacks with Afghanistan has no logic or foundation,” the statement said, adding that these claims cannot conceal Pakistan’s internal security failures. The ministry questioned, “If they were truly able to identify the perpetrators immediately after the incident, then why were they unable to prevent it beforehand?” It reaffirmed Afghanistan’s commitment to Islamic values, which prohibit harming innocent civilians, and urged Pakistani officials to review policies and adopt a more constructive, cooperative approach.
The Islamabad attack, carried out at Imambargah Qasr-i-Khadijatul Kubra in the Tarlai area during Friday prayers, claimed 36 lives and injured more than 160, according to hospital reports. Pakistani authorities have identified the suspected attacker as Yasir Khan Yasir, a Peshawar resident who allegedly received militant training in Afghanistan’s Kunar province for nearly five months before returning to Pakistan.
Preliminary investigations suggest Yasir may have been influenced by the Salafi ideology and possibly has links to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), though officials emphasized that the probe is still ongoing and no final conclusions have been drawn. Sources report that Yasir trained at the Mansoor Istashhadi center and crossed the border multiple times.
The incident has intensified scrutiny over Pakistan’s internal security mechanisms, while Afghanistan maintains that blaming its territory for the attack is unfounded and urges Pakistan to focus on domestic preventive measures rather than external accusations.
