The consecutive suicide attacks in Islamabad and on Indian embassy in Kabul clearly show how much SAARC countries are inflicted with terrorism. The countries in subcontinent have always been soft targets for terrorists. No stringent laws, poor condition of intelligence and lack of active joint mechanisms between nations in Indian subcontinent have been the favouring factors for rising incidents. Although India and Pakistan set up a joint mechanism on terrorism, and similarly Pakistan also has a Pakistan-Afghan Accord to Obliterate Terrorism, but there are no results. The individual mechanisms are of no help in war on terrorism, we clearly need a combined forum to talk and find solutions and SAARC is that forum. During the 12th and 13th SAARC summits, extreme emphasis was laid upon greater cooperation between the SAARC members to fight terrorism, but the countries need to come out with a suitable framework in upcoming summit at Kandy, Sri Lanka.
Al Jazeera on Kabul Blast:
At least 28 people have been killed and more than 100 others wounded in Afghanistan's capital Kabul after an attack on the Indian embassy, offficials say.
Abdullah Fahim, the spokesman for the Afghan public health ministry, said the explosion wounded 141 people in addition to the deaths.
The ministry collected information from the scene and several Kabul hospitals.
James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Afghanistan, said the blast on Monday may have been the work of a suicide bomber.
"This is the deadliest attack in Kabul for some months now," he said.
At least two of the dead were Indian paramilitary soldiers guarding the embassy, Indian foreign ministry officials said.
Bays said the road in the main centre of Kabul along which the interior ministry is situated should be one of the most secure roads in the city and "yet a suicide bomber managed to drive his four-wheel drive vehicle packed with explosives towards the gate of the embassy where he detonated his bomb".
He added: "It is a scene of utter devastation. The bomb has taken away the gate of the embassy, taken down trees, blown out windows and destroyed many cars which were parked outside the road ... pools of blood in the road and, of course, the most of awful thing it has done is kill alot of people ... Among the dead are a number of Indian staff working at the Indian embassy."
"Our information says two personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have been killed in the attack," a foreign ministry source said.
The blast, which was felt across much of Kabul, took place near a row of metal turnstiles outside the Indian embassy, where dozens of Afghan men line up every morning to apply for visas.
Show of support
Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, the Afghan foreign minister, visited the embassy soon after the attack to show support, Sultan Ahmad Baheen, his spokesman, said.
"The enemies of Afghanistan and India's relationship cannot hamper our relationship by conducting such attacks," Baheen said.
India has provided significant support to Afghanistan's efforts to restore order after the removal of the Taliban, which seized power in 1996 until they were pushed out.
Pranab Mukherjee, the Indian foreign minister, has called an emergency meeting of defence, foreign and home ministry officials to discuss the security situation, Indian officials said.
"There is no report of major damage to the embassy building but a watch tower has been destroyed as per our preliminary information."
The Indian embassy sits on a busy, tree-lined street in central Kabul near the interior ministry offices.
The ministry building is a large Soviet-built concrete complex.
Several nearby shops were damaged or destroyed in the blast.
The Associated Press news agency quoted witnesses as saying the bomb exploded during morning rush hour.
Monday's explosion was the deadliest attack in Kabul this year and the worst since a suicide bomber attacked an army bus last September, killing 30 people.
While Afghanistan has seen increasing violence in recent months, Kabul has been largely spared from random bomb attacks that Taliban fighters use in their fight against Afghan and international troops.
Canadian killed
In a separate incident on Monday, a Canadian soldier with Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) died in an explosion that hit a patrol in the country's south, a Canadian commander said.
Private Colin William Wilmot was taking part in a security patrol when an explosive device blew up near him, Brigadier-General Denis Thompson said in a statement.
Canada has deployed 2,500 soldiers in southern Afghanistan as part of the 40-nation Isaf, which numbers about 53,000 soldiers.
The latest death brings the Canadian death toll in Afghanistan since 2002 to 87 soldiers and one diplomat.
