Pakistan & India

A Monday suicide bomb at the gate of Indian Embassy killed at least 40 and injured 140 in Kabul, Afghanistan.  A senior Indian diplomat, an Indian Brigadier, three other Indians, and six Afghan policemen were among the deads including women and children. The government of Afghanistan implicitly accused Pakistan's ISI of having had a hand in the incident. President Karzai related the incident to the "enemies of Afghanistan and India's friendship." Many local Afghans related the incident to ISI Pakistan as well in answering a BBC Persian question in this regard. The government of Pakistan strongly rejected the accusation. Yousuf Raza Gillani, Pakistani's Prime Minister, while condemning the terrorism, said that his government did not have a role in the incident. India and Afghanistan have long term strategic relationships. The Afghan people see India as a friend. India has invested in hundreds of millions of dollars in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan and also provided thousands of education scholarships for young Afghan professionals to study in India. In another incident in the Eastern province of Nangarhar, an American airstrike killed at least 27 civilians at a wedding party, including the bride. Most of those killed were women and children. The Coalition Forces must differintiate between the civilians and the militia. Killing civilians increases the level of hatred twards the presence of the international community in Afghanistan. It will also give a good excuse to the Taliban to recruit more fighters using such incidents as a pretext.