Afghan governor blames Pakistan for attacks

Afghan governor blames Pakistan for attacks

KABUL: An Afghan provincial governor accused Pakistan on Tuesday of training and equipping Taliban suicide bombers who have killed at least 33 people in the southern Kandahar province since Sunday.

Escalating violence is causing some NATO members to agonise over plans to send more peacekeeping troops to the south to allow US-led forces to trim their presence there.

“The suicide bombers are trained and equipped by Pakistan and then sent to Afghanistan for sabotage activities,” Kandahar Governor Assadullah Khalid said. “Pakistan is sheltering and allowing senior Taliban officials on its soil, and in some cases the suicide bombers are even Pakistani nationals. The government of Pakistan is not a new one; it has army and intelligence. Since all the senior Taliban have got their houses there and use some of them as training camps, the government should know what is going on.” Many Taliban driven out of Afghanistan by US-backed forces in late 2001 are believed to have regrouped across the border in Pakistan’s tribal areas and in Balochistan. reuters