FM Qureshi telephones Afghan counterpart, assures Pakistan's support
The foreign minister condoled the deaths governor, police and intelligence chiefs.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Friday had a telephonic conversation with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani during which he condemned the terrorist attack in Kandahar.
The foreign minister while condoling the deaths governor, police and intelligence chiefs reiterated Pakistan’s support for the peace process in Afghanistan.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families and the Afghan government. Pakistan is committed to working for peace in Afghanistan,” he said.
A powerful Afghan police chief was among at least three people killed in a shooting Thursday the Taliban said had targeted top US commander General Scott Miller.
Miller was not hurt in the assault claimed by the militant group that also wounded at least 12 people, including three Americans and a provincial governor, NATO and Afghan officials said.
Security forces swarmed the southern city of Kandahar after the shooting that shuttered shops and sent terrified civilians - already on high alert for attacks - into their homes.
In a Twitter post, the Taliban said Miller and Kandahar provincial police chief General Abdul Raziq, who was killed, were the targets of the shooting.
Miller was not hurt in the shooting, NATO’s Resolute Support mission spokesman Colonel Knut Peters said in a statement.
Three Americans, including a soldier, civilian and contractor, were wounded in the cross-fire and had been evacuated from the scene.
Raziq, an anti-Taliban strongman, was widely seen as a bulwark against the insurgency in Kandahar, the militant group’s birthplace, and had previously survived multiple assassination attempts.
He long controlled the province with an iron hand and was accused of running secret torture chambers, an allegation he denied.
