Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday strongly condemned the terrorist attack outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in the Afghan capital that claimed 14 lives and injured over 60 people.
The suicide blast rocked the airport shortly after Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum returned to the country after more than a year in exile. Militant group Islamic State claimed the attack. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry expressed the “deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives”.
“We express our support and solidarity with the people and government of Afghanistan in this hour of grief,” the ministry’s spokesman said in a statement. He said Pakistan reiterates its condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations and the resolve to eliminate this menace.
Meanwhile, the death toll from a suicide attack near Kabul international airport has risen to 23, the health ministry said on Monday, with an AFP driver among the dead. At least 107 others were wounded in Sunday’s powerful explosion, which happened as scores of people were leaving the airport after welcoming home Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum from exile. (Agencies)