Pak regrets 'baseless insinuations' on Kabul bombing

Pakistan has expressed regret over "baseless insinuations" linking it to the suicide bombing near the Indian embassy in Afghanistan and said New Delhi should instead "opt for cooperation" to end terrorism.

Foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said though Islamabad had strongly condemned Thursday's "dastardly act of terrorism close to the Indian embassy in Kabul", Indian officials and media were blaming Pakistan for the attack.

"Regrettably the Indian officials and media continue to make baseless insinuations against Pakistan. These have become impulsive reactions betraying a strange mindset," Basit said in a statement issued late last night.

The attack near the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital was followed closely by "terrible terrorist attacks" in Peshawar, Islamabad and Rawalpindi that caused "huge loss of lives and injury to innocent persons", Basit said.

"It is evident that terrorists are enemies of both the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.

"Instead of recrimination, India should opt for cooperation," he added. Referring to the meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani at Sharm el-Sheikh in July, Basit said India had then agreed that "terrorism is the main threat" to both countries.

"Terrorism affects the whole region. Terrorism is a scourge that must be combated strongly. In our recent interaction with India in New York (in September), we had suggested a meeting of the Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism to discuss such  cooperation," Basit said.

In the second such attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, a Taliban suicide bomber blew up an explosives-laden car outside the mission killing 17 people and injuring nearly 80, including three ITBP personnel.