Following the suicide attack on Indian consulate in Jalalabad on Saturday where nine people were killed, Afghanistan assured India that it won't leave any 'stone unturned' for the safety of Indian diplomats.
"Will leave no stone unturned for Indian friends," Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul told External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid when the latter commended the Afghan forces for ensuring the safety of diplomats in the bomb attack.
"We wish to express our deep gratitude to the valiant Afghan security personnel who laid down their lives while protecting the Indian Consulate. We wish to express our grief and condolences to the families of the innocent Afghan civilians who also lost their lives during this attack," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
India too condemned the insurgent attack without naming any group, "This attack has once again highlighted that the main threat to Afghanistan's security and stability stems from terrorism and the terror machine that continues to operate from beyond its borders," the ministry added.
The Afghan terrorist group, Taliban, denied having any hand in Saturday's attack on the Indian consulate that left 23 people injured, Reuters reported.
Rassoul also said that he is 'determined to counter efforts of those inimical to Indo-Afghan friendship," MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.
India is involved in Afghanistan for major infrastructure projects, including the construction of Afghan Parliament in Kabul, and power transmission lines. India has also been working to finalise a 900-km railway line from Afghanistan to Iran.
"India will not be deterred from its commitment to assist Afghanistan in its reconstruction and development effort; this was clearly an attack not just against India but an attack against the efforts to help the Afghan people overcome the tragic hardships they have endured due to several decades of war," MEA said.
The Indian embassy in Kabul and the consulate in Jalalabad have been subjected to terror attacks in the past. In 2008 and 2009, two attacks on the embassy in Kabul left more than 50 people killed.
