Afghan government blames Pakistan for attempt on spy chief’s life

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
The Afghan President and senior cabinet officials have described the recent assassination attempt against the country’s spy chief as the work of “a professional intelligence service” and said they would be asking Pakistan “for clarification”. Assadullah Khaled, who heads Afghanistan’s National Directorate for Security (NDS), survived a suicide attack last Thursday in Kabul. According to Afghan officials, Khaled was attacked by a member of the Taliban posing as a “peace emissary”, who blew himself up as he was meeting Khaled to discuss a possible peace deal with the government. Media reports suggest that the bomber had concealed explosives in his undergarments and that he was not searched out of “respect for [Afghan] traditions and hospitality”. Shortly after the attack, the Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility and said they would try to kill Khaled again. But speaking to reporters last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that “more professional hands” were behind the attack on Khaled. The Afghan leader described the suicide attack as a “very sophisticated and complicated act by a professional intelligence service” and said the Afghan security services “know [for] a fact” that the suicide bomber had entered the country from Pakistan. President Karzai stopped short of directly implicating the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) of directly planning the attack; but he said his government would be “seeking a lot of clarifications from Pakistan” about the bombing. Last Sunday Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Janan Musazai told reporters that Afghan officials were “100 percent sure” the suicide bomber had come to Afghanistan from the Pakistani city of Quetta. However, like President Karzai, he refused to respond to questions on whether Pakistan’s ISI was responsible for the suicide operation. It is worth noting that Khaled, who was appointed head of the NDS in September, is a highly controversial figure among Afghans and Westerners alike. He is notorious for resorting to brutal torture and outright intimidation to get his way, especially during his time as Governor of the province of Kandahar. While there he became infamous for abducting, torturing and often killing his personal and political opponents. The spy chief is currently being treated at the US Bagram Air Base for multiple wounds to his lower body. Afghan government officials say he is expected to “recover completely” and resume his duties before the end of the year.