Ghani: “University attack in Kabul was ‘orchestrated’ from Pakistan”

ISLAMABAD: ‘Organised and orchestrated from Pakistan’ said Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani about attack on American University in Kabul on Thursday.

Ghani also telephoned Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and demanded “serious measures against the terrorists”.

Militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, killing at least 16 people, with nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students, said officials.

Based on the information provided by Afghan government, one professor, seven students, two security guards of the university and three personnel of the Afghan defence forces were killed in the attack, while nine policemen and 36 students and staff of the university were reportedly injured.

A meeting of Afghanistan’s National Security Council was convened on Thursday, during which Ghani reportedly called Gen Raheel and asked him “for serious and practical measures against the terrorists who organised the attack”, read a statement issued by the office of Afghan president.

Adding more investigative details, Afghan authorities shared three mobile numbers with Pakistan, saying these numbers were in allegedly in contact with the assailants from inside Pakistan during the university attack, said a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations.

Pakistani security forces immidiately carried out a combing operation, based on the information provided by Afghan government, in area close to Pak-Afghan border to verify the presence of miscreants, ISPR claimed.

Sharing its evaluation of the shared information, ISPR said “all Afghan SIMs used during the attack were from a network owned and operated by Afghan company whose spill over signal affects some areas along Pak-Afghan border”.

Outcome of the operation has been shared with the Afghan authorities, moreover, further technical evaluation of the mobile numbers is being carried out, read the ISPR statement.