Holbrooke regrets comments on Kabul attack

US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard C. Holbrooke

United Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke today regreted any misunderstanding caused by his comments on the recent terrorist attack in Kabul, which claimed the lives of 7 Indians and at least ten others.

"I did not say Indians were not targeted, but that initially it looked like the target was not an official Indian facility. Early reports on events like this are often unreliable, and I try not to jump to conclusions," he said.

"We all know that Indian citizens have and continue to be targeted by terrorists, including inside Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the families of all of the victims," he said.

Mr Holbrooke said the Afghan people and the international community deeply appreciated the very substantial humanitarian and reconstruction assistance that India provides Afghanistan.

"The willingness of India to take risks and make sacrifices to help Afghanistan is testament to India's commitment global peace and prosperity and a vital part of the international commitment to Afghanistan's future," he added.

Mr Holbrooke's statement came after reports that India was upset with his remarks on the attack at a briefing for newspapers in Washington on March 2.

Asked about the attack, he had said: "First of all, in regard to this attack, I don’t accept the fact that this was an attack on an Indian facility like the embassy. They were foreigners, non-Indian foreigners hurt. It was a soft target. And let’s not jump to conclusions. I understand why everyone in Pakistan and everyone in India always focuses on the other. But please, let’s not draw a conclusion which – for which there’s no proof."

According to media reports, Indian officials were extremely upset with the remarks because they felt the US official had ignored the fact that the terrorists' primary target was a building used by the Indian medical mission. The assessmet also ran counter to what Afghanistan's intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security, had established so far, they said.

NNN