By IANS,
New Delhi : Condemnations from world leaders and global capitals continued a day after a suicide bombing attack at the Indian embassy in Kabul, one of the deadliest attacks in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
Indian embassy defence attache Brigadier R.D. Mehta, Political and Information Counsellor V. Venkateswara Rao and two ITBP personnel Ajai Pathania and Roop Singh were among the 44 killed in the Monday attack.
Earlier Monday, the US, Britain, EU and France had immediately sent their condolences to India and Afghanistan over the loss of lives. Afghanistan termed the attackers as enemies of India-Afghan relationship, while Pakistan immediately condemned the suicide attack.
Echoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s strong condemnation Monday, UN Security Council “reiterated that no terrorist act can reverse the path to its peace, democracy, and reconstruction in Afghanistan”.
Chinese President Hu Jintao “denounced” the attack in his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of G8 summit in Japan Tuesday. “I sincerely express my heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the bombing in Afghanistan,” Hu told Manmohan Singh.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu lamented the continuing attacks on innocents and said such “criminal acts” ran counter to the teachings of Islam.
Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aaron Abramovich, visiting Delhi, condemned in the “strongest terms” the “terrible” attack.
“There can never be any justification for terrorism whatever its cause. As a country that has suffered so greatly at the hands of Islamic fundamentalist terror, Israel understands the need for concerted international action against those organisations which carry out such murderous acts and those countries which support them,” said Abramovich in a statement.
Canada was “heartened by India’s determined response to continue meeting its substantial commitment to Afghanistan”. “India will continue to be an important partner in international efforts to rebuild the country,” said Canadian Foreign Minister David Emerson.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith felt that the attack demonstrated the “determination to kill, maim and intimidate the Afghan people and to undermine international efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan”.
Norway said the attack “was carried out with the sole purpose of sabotaging the ongoing work to stabilize Afghanistan and the international efforts to build a foundation for peaceful development in the country”.
“There is no excuse for such terrorist actions,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.