The 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul was a suicide bomb
terror attack
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
on the
Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on 7 July 2008 at 8:30 AM local time.
The bombing killed 58 people
and wounded 141.
The
suicide car bombing took place near the gates of the embassy during morning hours when officials enter the embassy.
Unnamed U.S.
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
officials suggested to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' that
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
's
ISI intelligence agency had planned the attack.
Pakistan denied this claim.
According to British journalist
Christina Lamb, United States President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
confronted
Pakistani Prime Minister
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakist ...
Yousuf Raza Gilani
Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. He ...
and stated that in the case of another such attack he would have to take "serious action".
Gilani promised to investigate the attack. Subsequently, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman
Mohammed Sadiq described ''The New York Times'' report as "total rubbish" and said there was no evidence of ISI involvement.
Background
During the United States-led
invasion of Afghanistan
In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operations ...
in 2001, India offered
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
and other forms of support to the
coalition forces
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, comman ...
. After the overthrow of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
, India established diplomatic relations with the newly elected democratic government, provided aid and participated in Afghanistan's reconstruction efforts through the construction of roads, railways, electricity transmission lines, schools and hospitals.
Indo-Afghan relations strengthened in the wake of Afghanistan's persisting tensions and problems with
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, which is widely believed to shelter and support the Taliban.
Both India and Afghanistan also developed strategic and military cooperation against the insurgency.
India pursued a policy of close cooperation with Afghanistan in order to gain friendly influence in Central Asia as well as to keep a check on
Kashmiri militants that it claims are operating from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
India also provides training to
Afghan National Army officers and military personnel at its training institutions, including the
National Defence Academy
The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...
and the School of Artillery at
Devlali
Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region.
Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian ...
.
India has also helped Afghanistan in "capacity-building" by training Afghan pilots and technicians in operating Russian-origin
Mi-35
The Soviet and later Russian Mil Mi-24 helicopter has been produced in many variants, as described below.
History
In 1966, Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Mil created a mock-up design of a new helicopter (derived from the Mil Mi-8) which was ...
helicopter gunships. India is also a supplier of military parts for Soviet-era Afghan tanks and aircraft.
By 2007, India had pledged US$850 million to Afghan reconstruction efforts, the largest amount from any country without a military presence in Afghanistan, and later scaled up the aid to more than US$1 billion. India is currently the largest regional donor of humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in post-Taliban Afghanistan. About 3,000 Indians are estimated to be working on various reconstruction and developmental projects in Afghanistan, and they have often been subjected to attacks by Taliban insurgents.
In November 2005, after an incident in which an Indian national was kidnapped and murdered, India deployed 200 soldiers of the elite
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-India ...
(ITBP) to provide security for Indian nationals and the projects supported by India.
By 2008, ITBP's presence in Afghanistan was steadily increased to over 400 personnel.
India's growing influence in Afghanistan has upset Pakistan and other pro-Taliban elements. ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' said in an editorial that with the United States and other
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
members unwilling to sustain long-term commitments to Afghanistan, the Taliban see India as the only regional enemy capable of resisting them.
Other attacks on Indian interests
According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', India's external ministry officials have been raising the issue of security of Indian personnel in Afghanistan for the past several months.
The Indian consulate in
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلالآباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
was attacked twice by
hand grenades
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade ge ...
in 2007.
One soldier of the
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-India ...
(ITBP) was killed and four others injured in an attack by the Taliban on 5 June 2008.
In the aftermath of the attack,
India's Home Ministry cautioned its ITBP personnel to take necessary precautionary measures and also to remain at guard against ''
fidayeen
Fedayeen ( ar, فِدائيّين ''fidāʼīyīn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign.
Etymology
The term ''fedayi'' is derived from Arabic: '' ...
'' (suicide bomber) attacks. It also noted that the security being provided by the Afghan Police was "not up to the mark".
In spite of these efforts, the embassy bombing of 2008 was later followed up by the
2009 Kabul Indian embassy attack and the
February 2010 Kabul attack
The February 2010 Kabul attack on 26 February 2010 was a combined suicide bombing and shooting attack. A car bomb levelled the Arya Guesthouse, also known as the
Hamid Guesthouse,
popular with Indian doctors.
Two armed attackers then entered t ...
on Indian citizens and interests in Afghanistan.
The bombing
The car bomb detonated at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time on 7 July 2008. The Indian embassy, which is in the center of Kabul, is located across the street from the office of the Interior Ministry of the
Government of Afghanistan
The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political pow ...
and is close to several other government buildings. The bombing occurred on a busy, tree-lined street where people usually line up at the embassy gates to apply for visas to India.
[Many killed in Kabul suicide blast](_blank)
Al Jazeera. 7 July 2008. An explosive-packed
Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
, driven by the suicide bomber, rammed into two Indian diplomatic vehicles entering the embassy and detonated.
The gates to the embassy were blown off and the walls of some buildings in its compound were damaged.
A plume of smoke and dust was seen rising from the center of Kabul city, and the explosion was heard several miles away.
Several nearby shopkeepers also became immediate victims of the attack,
and the nearby Indonesian embassy also suffered damage.
Kabul Police immediately sealed off the area.
A statement released by the Afghan interior ministry said, "The initial findings of the ministry show that the main target of this attack has not been security forces like in most attacks but has been particularly planned to target the Indian embassy". There was immediate confusion and panic in the Indian embassy after the bomb blasts. According to a
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
reporter, a man who answered the phone at the Indian embassy abruptly hung up, saying, "We are not fine. All communications have been cut off".
The
Ministry of External Affairs of Government of India was reported to be in touch with India's ambassador to Afghanistan,
Jayant Prasad. The Indian ambassador and his deputy were inside the building complex at the time of the explosion but were not hurt.
Indian External Affairs Minister,
Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
, called for an emergency meeting of officials in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
after the bomb attack to review security arrangements.
An anonymous person reported that rumours said the Indian embassy had previously received bomb threats.
Casualties
Most of the 58 dead were locals and included two top Indian officials. Senior
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
officer Brigadier
Ravi Datt Mehta was entering the embassy gates in a car along with V. Venkateswara Rao when the attack took place. Both were killed in the blast.
Indian casualties
*
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...
Ravi Datt Mehta had been assigned a key role as
defence attaché
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense indust ...
, serving as part of India's military training and logistical help to Afghanistan, and was posted in Kabul for six months. He was said to have a "good relationship" with Afghan defence minister
Abdul Rahim Wardak
General Abdul Rahim Wardak (; Pashto/ prs, عبدالرحیم وردگ; born 1945), an ethnic Pashtun, is an Afghan politician and former Defense Minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed on December 23, 2004, by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. ...
. During his tenure in the Indian Army, which he commenced with the class of June 1976, he had gained experience in counter-insurgency operations in both
Jammu and Kashmir and
North-East India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
. The main reason of him being specifically targeted by terrorists was, he had a key role in training the Afghan military and was closely tracking links between the Taliban and Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence.
* V. Venkateswara Rao was an
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
officer of the class of 1990 and was working as an Indian press counselor in the Afghan mission.
* Two Indian officers of the
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-India ...
, Ajai Pathania and Roop Singh, were also killed in the blast.
An
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
IL-76
The Ilyushin Il-76 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-76; NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose, fixed-wing, four-engine turbofan strategic airlifter designed by the Soviet Union's Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a comme ...
aircraft was sent to Kabul to retrieve the four bodies.
Casualties from other states
Six Afghan police
constables
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
were killed and five others sustained injuries.
An Afghan Indian Embassy employee by the name of Niamutullah was also killed in the blast.
The five Afghan guards outside the Indonesian Embassy were killed, and two Indonesian diplomats were injured in the attack.
Investigations
Afghanistan's intelligence agency
Riyast-i-Amniyat-i-Milli, India's
Research and Analysis Wing and the United States'
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
are reported to be scanning vast volumes of intercepted communications and questioning informants to find some clues.
According to ''
CNN-IBN
CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...
'', Indian and Afghan agencies believe that the
Pakistani Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...
's 324 Military Intelligence Battalion based in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
had planned the attack on the Indian embassy and executed it in collaboration with either the Taliban or
al-Qaida
Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countri ...
.
Afghanistan's Interior Minister has stated that the suicide bombers were trained in Pakistan.
India's ambassador to Afghanistan, Jayant Prasad, stated that, after reviewing the scene, the main target of the attack was believed to be the Indian embassy building. He also added that, considering the huge amount of explosives used in the attack, it was clear that target was not top Indian diplomatic officials but the embassy itself. Bomb scene review further revealed that the embassy guard killed in the attack had his hand on the closed gates. The ambassador stated that it is likely that the guard did not open the gate because he saw a suspicious car driving behind an embassy vehicle. The suicide attacker then might have decided to explode his device near the gate rather than inside the embassy's compound. According to investigating officials, much of the impact was taken up by the sand filled
blast barriers. These barriers, which were built across the embassy for added protection just one week before the blast, saved it from structural damage.
An investigative report in the ''
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...
'' identified the attacker as "22-year-old Hamza Shakoor from
Gujranwala district in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
," citing unnamed sources. It also claimed that "intelligence about an imminent attack was remarkably precise, giving an indication about the centres of planning and execution."
US Secretary of Defense
The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The ...
Robert Gates
Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...
added that the US was offering help to Afghan and Indian governments to investigate further.
Soon American officials came to believe that the attack was conducted by the
Haqqani network
The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanist ...
, a
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
group led by
Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Pakistani involvement
On 13 July India stated their suspicions about the
ISI's involvement in the attack. India's
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils.
National sec ...
M.K. Narayanan said, "We have no doubt that the ISI is behind this."
On 1 August 2008, United States intelligence officials said that the Pakistani intelligence services helped the Haqqani network plan the attack.
Their conclusions were based on intercepted communications between Pakistani intelligence officers and the perpetrators before the attack.
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
deputy director
Stephen R. Kappes had visited
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
before the attack to confront senior Pakistani officials with information about support provided by members of the ISI to militant groups. The officials said that the ISI officers involved had not been renegades, indicating that their actions might have been authorised by superiors in the
Pakistan Army. It confirmed suspicions that were long held, an 'aha moment'.
US officials also called into question the reliability of Pakistan as an ally in the American
War on Terror
The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international Counterterrorism, counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campa ...
.
According to an article by British journalist
Christina Lamb, President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
confronted
Pakistani prime minister
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pakist ...
Yusuf Raza Gillani in Washington D.C. with evidence of ISI's involvement in the Kabul attack and warned that in case of another attack he would have to take "serious action".
Motivations
During the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
regime in Afghanistan, which was backed by Pakistan, India had supported the
Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...
that opposed the Taliban.
After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, India opened four consulates in
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...
,
Mazari Sharif
, official_name =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia
, pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif
, pushpin ...
,
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
and
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلالآباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
and backed
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
's national government as well as the US-led
ISAF
' ps, کمک او همکاري '
, allies = Afghanistan
, opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda
, commander1 =
, commander1_label = Commander
, commander2 =
, commander2_label =
, commander3 =
, command ...
against the Taliban insurgency. India is Afghanistan's fifth-largest bilateral donor and its growing presence in post-war Afghanistan has caused much concern to the Taliban and Pakistan as it views Indian measures as a threat to its influence in the region. The
President of Pakistan,
Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...
, had accused Afghan President Hamid Karzai of "favouring" India. Islamabad has also reportedly accused Indian consulates in Kandahar and Jalalabad of providing support to insurgents in Pakistan's troubled
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
region,
a claim repeated by Urdu newspapers to conservative and hardline Islamic constituents in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Coupled with Pakistan's old and documented animosity towards India, analysts claim Pakistan had strong motives to target Indian nationals and their economic projects in Afghanistan.
The statement by Afghan President Hamid Karzai noted that "enemies of Afghan–India ties were behind attack" without clearly specifying which enemies.
On 7 July 2008, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry claimed that the attack was carried in collaboration with "a regional intelligence service" and added that the bombers received training in Pakistan. Afghanistan has in the past blamed its neighbour Pakistan and its intelligence service ISI for various terror incidents on its soil.
Denying its involvement in the attacks, a Taliban spokesman said in a statement, "they (India) send secret military experts to Afghanistan and they train the Afghan army. Had we carried out the attack, we would have claimed responsibility for it with pride since we have good reasons for it." The Taliban spokesman also implicated Pakistan instead and further stated that the attack had its roots in the regional Indo-Pakistan rivalry.
On 8 July, Afghanistan stated that it had no doubts that the attack was carried out in collaboration with "foreign intelligence agencies", again an implicit reference to Pakistan's ISI.
Prime minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...
Yousaf Raza Gillani
Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. ...
denied any involvement of ISI in the attack and also remarked that his country had no interest in destabilising Afghanistan.
Subsequently, there have been reports of Afghan officials blaming Pakistan directly and explicitly for the attack on the Indian embassy. Indian security analysts at the Institute of Conflict Management have claimed that "the ISI-backed Taliban will not allow any Indian consolidation in Afghanistan, nor will they allow any stability in Kabul."
Denials by Pakistan
Immediately after the report in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq described it as "total rubbish" and said there was no evidence of ISI involvement. "The foreign newspapers keep writing such things against ISI, and we reject these allegations."
On 15 October, in an India-Pakistan bilateral meeting to address
cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations, Islamabad denied any role of the ISI in the 7 July bombings. Pakistan's
National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils.
National sec ...
Mahmud Ali Durrani
Mahmud Ali Durrani ( ur, محمود علی درانی; born 1941), is a retired Pakistani two-star rank general officer, author of security studies, and a former National Security Advisor to the Pakistani government, serving from 2008 until h ...
denied involvement when asked to comment on reports alleging that ISI masterminded the Kabul blasts. It was also clarified that the Kabul bombings will be discussed in detail at the meeting of the joint anti-terror mechanism later the same month.
On 23 October, it was reported that India had shared sensitive information with Pakistan that pointed towards the ISI's alleged complicity in the embassy bombing as both countries ended a special meeting of their joint-terror mechanism on a "positive" note.
Further threats to Indian nationals
A bomb was found on a bus transporting 12 Indian road construction workers of
Border Roads Organization to Afghanistan on 8 July 2008 in
Zaranj
Zaranj or Zarang ( Persian/Pashto/ bal, زرنج) is a city in southwestern Afghanistan, near the border with Iran, which has a population of 160,902 people as of 2015. It is the capital of Nimruz Province and is linked by highways with Lashkarga ...
,
Nimruz
Nimruz or Nimroz (Dari: ; Balochi: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southwestern part of the country. It lies to the east of the Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran and north of Balochistan, Pakistan, also borde ...
, a day after the attack on Indian embassy in Kabul. The engineers and workers on board reported having noticed a "suspicious package" after boarding the bus on the day, but it was only after further investigation that it was revealed that a remote-operated bomb had been placed on board. Provincial governor Ghulam Dastgir Azad placed the blame for the attempted bombing of the workers on Taliban militants, who have been responsible for more than a dozen worker deaths in the area over the last few years.
Calls for Indian military intervention
According to some defence analysts, India should increase its military presence in Afghanistan not only to protect Indian projects and nationals there, but also to aid the coalition forces to improve the overall security situation in the war-torn country. Gurmeet Kanwal, head of the Center for Land Warfare Studies, said, "I would say the time has come to live up to our responsibility. If it involves military intervention, so be it."
C. Raja Mohan, an Indian foreign policy analyst, urged India's government to increase military presence in Afghanistan and also added "Afghanistan needs to be stabilised. Pakistan needs to be stabilised. This requires more drastic remedies."
In April 2008 Afghanistan's
defense minister
A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...
formally requested India's help in counter-insurgency operations during his visit to New Delhi. India has already provided large-scale military equipment to the Afghan National Army and has also given crucial intelligence inputs to the United States-led coalition forces. Several members of the Afghan army have undergone anti-terrorist training in India and in April 2007, the Indian Army also sent a delegation to set up an army training school in Afghanistan and
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
. In September 2007, India held a joint military exercise with the United Kingdom to train British forces in counter-insurgency operations, particularly those in Afghanistan. India also has an operational air force command at the
Farkhor Air Base
Farkhor Air Base is a military air base located near the town of Farkhor in Tajikistan, southeast of the capital Dushanbe. It is operated by the Indian Air Force in collaboration with the Tajik Air Force. Farkhor is India's first military ba ...
in neighbouring
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
. ''
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'' said in an editorial, "after the Kabul bombing, India must come to terms with an important question that it has avoided debating so far. New Delhi cannot continue to expand its economic and diplomatic activity in Afghanistan, while avoiding a commensurate increase in its military presence there. For too long, New Delhi has deferred to Pakistani and American sensitivities about raising India's strategic profile in Afghanistan." However, some analysts have feared that if India joins the United States-led coalition forces in Afghanistan, it would harm the
soft power
In politics (and particularly in international politics), soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard power). In other words, soft power involves shaping the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defin ...
it has gradually built in the region as a result of the widespread popularity of
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
films and
Indian television soaps among Afghans.
Reactions
India
Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
, India's External Affairs Minister, condemned the "cowardly terrorists' attack" and added that "such acts of terror will not deter us from fulfilling our commitments to the government and people of Afghanistan."
India also rushed a high-level emergency team of experts to review the situation.
Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
said, "the target is clearly the innocent citizens. Efforts to spread chaos and disturb peace will not be allowed to succeed at any cost. The government is determined to defeat nefarious designs of terrorist elements. The perpetrators of these heinous acts will be dealt with firmly. The security agencies are already working in this regard. All sections of society are required to remain calm and extend fullest co-operation to them."
Afghanistan
Afghan Foreign Minister
Rangeen Dadfar Spanta visited the embassy soon after the attack to show his support. His ministry's spokesman, Sultan Ahmad Baheen, said, "the enemies of
Afghanistan and India's relationship cannot hamper our relationship by conducting such attacks".
He added, "India and Afghanistan have a deep relationship between each other. Such attacks of the enemy will not harm our relations."
A statement released by the Afghan foreign ministry said, "the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly condemns today's terrorist attack on the embassy of the friendly and brother country of India".
Afghan President
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
later called
Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...
and expressed his condolences.
On 14 July Karzai declared whom he believed to be the foreign state behind the attack, stating, "Now this has become clear. And we have told the government of Pakistan that the killings of people in Afghanistan, the destruction of bridges in Afghanistan ... are carried out by Pakistan's intelligence and Pakistan's military departments."
Pakistan
In a statement, Foreign Minister
Shah Mehmood Qureshi
Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Hussain Qureshi ( ur, ; born 22 June 1956) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 29th Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022. He previously held the post from 2008 to 2011. He has been a member of the Nationa ...
condemned the bombing at the Indian embassy in Kabul, stating that "Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations as this menace negates the very essence of human values". A spokesman for Pakistan's foreign ministry also dismissed claims of Pakistan's involvement in the attack as "total rubbish".
International
On behalf of states around the world, their respective representatives commented on both the attack and the resulting casualties:
* – The Armenian Foreign Ministry said, "with deep indignation we learned about the terrorist act near the Indian embassy in Kabul which took lives of tens of peaceful people. Among the innocent victims are our partners working in the Indian embassy."
* – Foreign Minister
Stephen Smith said the Australian government "condemns the car bomb attack ... and extends its deep sympathies to the Afghan government and people and to the Indian government and people." He went on to add "This attack further demonstrates their determination to kill, maim and intimidate the Afghan people and to undermine international efforts to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan."
* – Bulgarian President
Georgi Parvanov
Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov ( bg, Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating incumbent Petar Sto ...
said, "Bulgaria categorically condemns this cruel act of terrorism." He went on to say that he hoped the attack "will not dissuade India from actively supporting the reconstruction of Afghanistan, a process in which Bulgaria is also closely involved."
* – David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, condemned the attack, saying, "Previous attacks have not broken the will of Afghans or of the international community. We are heartened by India’s determined response to continue meeting its substantial commitment to Afghanistan."
* – Foreign Affairs Ministry said, "the Nepal Government strongly condemns the heinous act of terrorism."
* – Before the
2008 G8 summit, Chinese
Premier Hu Jintao told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, "We strongly denounce the terrorist attack on the Indian embassy. I sincerely express my heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed in the bombing in Afghanistan."
* – Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said, "Our hearts go out to the victims' families and relatives, and we express our support to those injured in this inhuman act. We grieve over the death of our colleagues, Indian diplomats. We resolutely condemn the terrorists' savage attacks and we are convinced that they will be given a worthy rebuff."
* – The Foreign Ministry said, "we condemn this act of terror and pledge our full support to India in your fight against this scourge."
* – British foreign secretary
David Miliband said he "was appalled to hear the news". Adding that these were "cowardly actions carried out by those with no regard for human life" and that such acts "are designed to undermine the efforts of democratic governments and the international community to bring peace and stability to the region".
* –
US State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...
spokesman
Sean McCormack
Sean McCormack (born 1964) is a former United States Assistant Secretary of State. He was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Department Spokesman on June 2, 2005, and served until January 20, 2009. McCormack is curre ...
described the bombing as "terrible news" and said, "we have offered any assistance, not only to Afghan but also to Indian authorities, in terms of follow-up, determining who's responsible for these attacks."
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
spokesman
Gordon Johndroe
Gordon Johndroe (born October 25, 1974) is the Managing Director of Communications at American Airlines, a role he assumed in July 2022. Gordon served as Vice President of Global Media Relations and Public Affairs at The Boeing Company until 2021. ...
said in a statement, "the US stands with the people of Afghanistan as well as India, as we face this common enemy."
* – Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said, "Vietnam strongly condemns the brutal terrorist attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan on 7 July, killing many civilians. We would like to extend our profound condolences to the victims' families."
Organisations
* – The European Union described the bombing as a "terrorist attack targeting innocent civilians".
EU foreign policy chief
Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga (; born 14 July 1942) is a Spanish physicist and PSOE politician. After serving in the Spanish government as Foreign Affairs Minister under Felipe González (1992–1995) and as the Secretary General of NA ...
added that "Such actions, which are clearly intended to undermine the process of stabilisation and reconstruction in Afghanistan, will achieve nothing."
* – NATO Secretary General
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
Jakob Gijsbert "Jaap" de Hoop Scheffer ; born 3 April 1948) is a Dutch politician and diplomat of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and jurist who served as Secretary General of NATO from January 2004 to August 2009.
De Hoop Scheffer ...
said in a statement, "On behalf of NATO, I wholeheartedly condemn the bombing at the Indian Embassy. The loss of life and injuries to so many is a tragedy, and a clear attempt to undermine regional relations."
* –
Kai Eide
Kai Aage Eide (born 28 February 1949 in Sarpsborg) is a Norwegian diplomat and writer. He was appointed the United Nations Special Representative to Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on 7 March ...
, the special envoy of UN Secretary General to Afghanistan said, "I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. In no culture, no country, and no religion is there any excuse or justification for such acts. The total disregard for innocent lives is staggering and those behind this must be held responsible."
UN Secretary General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary-g ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
also condemned the attack "in the strongest terms." The
Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
also described the attack as a "reprehensible act of terrorism."
See also
*
Foreign relations of Afghanistan
The foreign relations of Afghanistan are in a transitional phase since the 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the collapse of the internationally-recognized Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. No country has recognised the new regime, the Isla ...
References
External links
Images from after the blast from CNN IBN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Embassy Bombing in Kabul
2008 murders in Afghanistan
Attacks on diplomatic missions in Afghanistan
Kabul Indian embassy
Suicide car and truck bombings in Afghanistan
Massacres committed by the Taliban
Terrorist incidents in Kabul
Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2008
Mass murder in 2008
Mass murder in Kabul
Massacres in Afghanistan
Indian Embassy Bombing in Kabul, 2008
Afghanistan–India relations
Anti-Indian sentiment in Asia
July 2008 crimes
2008 in Kabul
Building bombings in Afghanistan
Attacks in Afghanistan in 2008