Pakistan condemns attack on President Ghani’s election rally

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has issued a strong condemnation against a bomb blast near the election rally of President Ashraf Ghani in Parwan province, north of Kabul, on Tuesday, where at least 24 people died and 30 were reportedly injured.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed his grief at the loss of life of dozens of innocent people and prayed for their families as well as the scores injured. He also stressed the need for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The attack, which was claimed by the Taliban, occurred 11 days before Afghanistan’s presidential elections, with reports of women and children among the dead and injured. 
The militant group has vowed to disrupt elections and to dissuade people from voting on 28 September by intensifying their attacks.  President Ashraf Ghani, though present at the rally, was unhurt.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign office said in an official statement that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and supported Afghan efforts for strengthening democracy in the country.
Last week, peace talks between the US and Taliban collapsed after nearly a year of negotiations. The two sides had been seeking to reach an accord on the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, a blast went off in the center of Kabul, sending Afghan forces rushing to the blast site. The second attack was also claimed by the Taliban.