Afghanistan: Kabul hotel attacker trained by Pakistan spy agency ISI
What's the story
In a shocking claim, Afghanistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, Mahmoud Saikal said that Pakistan's spy agency ISI trained the terrorist involved in the attack on Kabul's iconic Intercontinental Hotel. On January 20, in a 12hr ordeal, Taliban men armed with Kalashnikovs and suicide vests killed around 40 people. They went from room to room searching for foreigners. Here's more on what he said.
Incident
What happened at the Intercontinental Hotel?
The gunmen stormed the state-owned Intercontinental Hotel at about 9pm local time and started shooting at guests and staff. They also set certain sections of the hotel on fire. With the gunmen holed up inside, Afghan special force personnel were lowered down to the luxury hotel's roof by helicopters during the night-time siege. They gained control of the hotel, rescuing over 150 people.
Afghanistan
Now, what has the Afghan envoy claimed?
Saikal in a tweet said that Abdul Qahar, father of one of the terrorists, admitted that his son was trained in Pakistan's Balochistan province by the ISI. His son is currently in the custody of Afghan authorities. Cultural Attache at the Embassy of Afghanistan Majeed Qarar also seconded this information and added that the attack was planned in a Pakistani madrasa.
Pakistan
What are the other evidences against Pakistan?
Earlier, Afghanistan claimed that explosives used in the Intercontinental Hotel attack were traced to the Islamabad-based company Biafo Industries Limited. Now, the Afghan envoy said that night vision goggles found with Taliban attackers were military-grade, not sold to public. They were reportedly procured by Pakistan army from a British company and supplied to international terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Kashmir & Taliban in Afghanistan.
Implication
What does this indicate?
The hotel attack was followed by a suicide-bomb attack that claimed at least 100 lives and left several injured. Taliban took responsibility for this attack as well. These continued attacks by Taliban on Afghanistan prompted severe reactions from US and the UNSC. As pressure mounts on taking decisive action against Taliban and its terrorist infrastructure, will Pakistan comply? Considering its history, it appears doubtful.