Afghan spy agency says ISI planned attack on parliament
The Afghan spy service on Wednesday said the brazen terrorist attack on the parliament in Kabul was carried out by the Haqqani Network in line with a plan finalised by an officer of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
National Directorate of Security (NDS) spokesman Abdul Haseeb Siddiqui told the Pajhwok Afghan News agency that the attack was "jointly designed by Maulvi Sherin, the Haqqani Network’s operational commander, and the ISI officer Bilal" in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Siddiqui said the ISI officer, identified only as Bilal, belongs to the Zakhil tribe and "maintained close and direct links with militants in the Tirah valley of Khyber Agency", one of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal districts bordering Afghanistan.
He added 7.5 million Pakistani rupees had been set aside for Monday's attack on the Afghan parliament.
Afghan spy agency says ISI planned attack on parliament