COAS condemns terrorist attack in Afghanistan’s Kandahar

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday condemned a terrorist attack in Afghanistan which resulted in death of senior Kandhar security officials, ARY News reported.

“COAS condemns Kandahar incident. Wish to see Afghan and other security forces succeeding to bring an end to this prolonged violence in Afghanistan,” Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor tweeted.

“Peace in Afghanistan is essential for peace in the region. (Pakistan Army) supports all initiatives towards this end”, COAS was quoted as saying by ISPR.

COAS condemns Kandahar incident. “Wish to see Afghan and other security forces succeeding to bring an end to this prolonged violence in Afghanistan. Peace in Afghanistan is essential for peace in the region. Support all initiatives towards this end”, COAS.

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) October 18, 2018

Earlier, Foreign Office too issued a statement to condemn the incident and said that Pakistan stands with the Afghan government and people and reiterates its support for the democratic process in Afghanistan.

“We hope that the parliamentary elections due to take place the day after tomorrow would be held peacefully. Strengthening of democracy is key to long term peace and security in Afghanistan,” reads the statement issued by foreign office.

Gen. Abdul Razeq, one of Afghanistan’s most powerful security officials, was killed on Thursday when a bodyguard opened fire following a meeting in the governor’s compound in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said.

Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan who had been at the meeting with Razeq only moments earlier, was not injured in the attack. But the local commander of the NDS intelligence service and the Kandahar provincial governor Zalmay Wesa were also killed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they had targeted both Miller and Razeq, the police chief of Kandahar who had a fearsome reputation as a ruthless opponent of the insurgents in their southern Afghan heartlands.