Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, Pakistan’s head of mission in Kabul, who escaped an armed attack on his life in the embassy in the Afghan capital, is visiting the country for official engagements, the Foreign Office said Monday.
“Our Head of Mission in Kabul, Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, is in Pakistan for a pre-scheduled consultation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement.
The attack was directed at Nizamani, according to the Foreign Office. Although the attackers missed Nizamani, an embassy security guard, Sepoy Israr Mohammad, was critically injured while protecting the ambassador.
A spokesperson for Kabul police said shortly after the attack that the embassy compound was targeted by gunfire from a nearby building. According to the statement, police arrested one suspect and recovered two firearms.
The Afghan government was behind the attack.
Meanwhile, Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, claimed Monday that the assailants who carried out the attack on the Pakistani embassy in Kabul were Daesh operatives.
“Foreigners are among the embassy attackers who have been apprehended. The assassination attempt on Pakistan’s mission chief in Kabul has a foreign component “According to the Afghan spokesperson.
He went on to say that the attack was intended to sow distrust between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan has confirmed Daesh’s claim of an attack.
Reuters reported on Sunday that Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement carried by one of the militant group’s affiliated Telegram channels.
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out by two of its members armed with “medium and sniper weapons” and targeted the ambassador and his guards who were present in the embassy courtyard.
The Foreign Office said the same day that it had seen reports of IS claiming responsibility and was verifying those reports.
“Independently and in consultation with Afghan authorities, we are verifying the veracity of these reports,” it said in a statement, adding that the attack reminded the region of the threat posed by militant activity.
“We’ve heard that the IS-KP has accepted responsibility for the terrorist attack on the Pakistan Embassy compound on December 2, 2022.” “We are verifying the veracity of these reports independently and in consultation with Afghan authorities,” said the FO spokesperson in a statement.
According to the spokesperson, the attack was “another reminder of the threat that terrorism poses to peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.”
“We must act decisively and with all of our collective might to defeat this threat.” Pakistan, for its part, remains steadfast in its commitment to combat terrorism,” said the spokesperson.
Nizamani arrived in Kabul last month to take over at one of the few embassies that have remained open since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 after foreign forces withdrew.
Comments are closed.