Editorial: Pakistan encouraging suicide attacks

Afghan officials have collected enough evidence to prove Pakistani involvement in encouraging Taleban suicide attacks in the war-ravaged country. The recent spurt of suicide attacks shook the southern province of Kandahar in a way that nearly four years of guerrilla insurgency could not do. Afghan officials insist that most of the attacks have been carried out by foreigners, an argument supported by the recent arrests of non-Pashtun Pakistani nationals. “The explosives come from Pakistan, and the drivers come from Pakistan and foreign countries. It is very difficult for an Afghan to persuade himself to commit suicide,” said General Rahmatullah Raufi, the corps commander of the Afghan National Army in Kandahar. The general says the recent arrests in Kandahar show that both Pakistanis and Afghans may have been involved in the latest attacks. Earlier this week, in the southwestern province of Nimroz, an Iraqi and three Pakistanis with suspected links to the Taleban were arrested on suspicion of plotting attacks. Meanwhile, the Taleban have warned that these bombings are just the start, and more will follow soon. The latest trend of suicide attacks has had a devastating effect on the morale of Afghans, and has begun forcing foreign aid workers to change the way they deliver assistance in the southern part of the country.