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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Afghan diplomat shot in Islamabad | Afghan diplomat shot in Islamabad |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| An Afghan diplomat was shot and wounded in a normally calm shopping market in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Afghan embassy has revealed. | An Afghan diplomat was shot and wounded in a normally calm shopping market in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Afghan embassy has revealed. |
| The attack in the heart of the Pakistani capital came at a time when traditionally uneasy relations between Afghanistan and its neighbour have hit rock bottom following the botched opening of a Taliban office in Doha on Tuesday. | The attack in the heart of the Pakistani capital came at a time when traditionally uneasy relations between Afghanistan and its neighbour have hit rock bottom following the botched opening of a Taliban office in Doha on Tuesday. |
| An embassy spokesman said gunmen shot Naqeebullah Ibrahimkhel, the third secretary at the Afghan mission, in the leg as he was walking the short distance from a cluster of shops to his house in a leafy suburban area. | An embassy spokesman said gunmen shot Naqeebullah Ibrahimkhel, the third secretary at the Afghan mission, in the leg as he was walking the short distance from a cluster of shops to his house in a leafy suburban area. |
| The diplomat is currently recovering in hospital and the Afghan ambassador has demanded Pakistan ensure the security of all of his staff. Police have said the attack was an attempted robbery. | The diplomat is currently recovering in hospital and the Afghan ambassador has demanded Pakistan ensure the security of all of his staff. Police have said the attack was an attempted robbery. |
| "He was just 20 metres from the market in an area where we have never known of any security problem," said Shams Zardahst, the Afghan embassy spokesman. | |
| "They robbed him of his money and mobile phone and then tried to pull him into a nearby area of trees." | |
| He said the men may have been trying to kidnap him, but shot him in the leg when he resisted. | He said the men may have been trying to kidnap him, but shot him in the leg when he resisted. |
| Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been dire for several months, despite initial optimism at the results of a major conference between the two countries hosted by David Cameron at Chequers in February. | Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been dire for several months, despite initial optimism at the results of a major conference between the two countries hosted by David Cameron at Chequers in February. |
| Afghan officials complain bitterly that Islamabad has not fulfilled promises to help bring the Taliban, whose leadership is based in Pakistan, to the negotiating table. | Afghan officials complain bitterly that Islamabad has not fulfilled promises to help bring the Taliban, whose leadership is based in Pakistan, to the negotiating table. |
| They say none of three requests were met: to release key Taliban prisoners held by Pakistan, including a high ranking insurgent called Abdul Ghani Baradar; to support a conference of senior clerics from both countries to denounce insurgent violence; and to act as a go-between for messages between the Afghan government and Taliban leadership. | They say none of three requests were met: to release key Taliban prisoners held by Pakistan, including a high ranking insurgent called Abdul Ghani Baradar; to support a conference of senior clerics from both countries to denounce insurgent violence; and to act as a go-between for messages between the Afghan government and Taliban leadership. |
| Anger only increased this week because of suspicions over Pakistan's involvement in the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, which outraged Kabul because of the way Taliban representatives presented themselves with all the trappings of a state. | Anger only increased this week because of suspicions over Pakistan's involvement in the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, which outraged Kabul because of the way Taliban representatives presented themselves with all the trappings of a state. |
| That anger was exacerbated by a front page article in a Pakistani newspaper on Thursday that reported the delight of unnamed military and foreign office officials, who said the opening of the Doha office reflected US willingness to agree to Pakistan's strategy in Afghanistan, which apparently includes sidelining the country's president, Hamid Karzai. | That anger was exacerbated by a front page article in a Pakistani newspaper on Thursday that reported the delight of unnamed military and foreign office officials, who said the opening of the Doha office reflected US willingness to agree to Pakistan's strategy in Afghanistan, which apparently includes sidelining the country's president, Hamid Karzai. |
| Washington has been forced to accept its least desirable solution, an unnamed military official was quoted as saying: "Accept Taliban as a legitimate power in Afghanistan, talk to them, accommodate their main demands even if it meant abandoning assets like Karzai." | Washington has been forced to accept its least desirable solution, an unnamed military official was quoted as saying: "Accept Taliban as a legitimate power in Afghanistan, talk to them, accommodate their main demands even if it meant abandoning assets like Karzai." |
| Speaking at the UN security council on Thursday, Pakistan's ambassador to the UN angrily rejected claims by the Afghan representative that some elements in Pakistan "continue to use terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy". | Speaking at the UN security council on Thursday, Pakistan's ambassador to the UN angrily rejected claims by the Afghan representative that some elements in Pakistan "continue to use terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy". |
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