Kabul's Blast Sheds Light upon India's Role in Afghanistan

The channel quoting Taliban website identified the suicide bomber as Khalid , Indian Express reports.

In the meantime, today Pakistan condemned the suicide car bomb attack outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul and said elements in Afghanistan are intent of sabotaging peace efforts by coalition forces and damaging relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters that there were elements that are "trying to sabotage coalition efforts (to restore peace) in Afghanistan and damage Pakistan-India relations," Press Trust of India reports.

Times of India quoted Minister of State for external affairs Shashi Tharoor as saying Thursday, "India will not be intimidated by these criminal killers. We will take all steps necessary to protect Indian lives and installations in Afghanistan."

Tharoor also conveyed India's condolences for the around 12 Afghans who died in the suicide bombing outside the Indian mission in Kabul Thursday morning.

A powerful suicide car bomb blast near the Indian embassy in Kabul Thursday killed at least 12 people and injured over 90 others. No Indian was killed in the devastating bombing on the busy road outside the embassy. Afghan officials said the dead were one police officer and 11 Afghan civilians, most of whom were seeking Indian visas , Times of India reports .

Pakistan has long regarded Afghanistan as a fall-back position in the event of war with India and fears being squeezed between India on its eastern border and a hostile Afghanistan, backed by India, on a western boundary Kabul does not recognise.

New Delhi seeks to retain influence in Afghanistan to deter anti-India militant training camps there it accuses Pakistan of backing and to control any possibility of an Islamic surge in a region with traditional ties to Islamabad , Reuters India reports.