Pakistan to probe Indian embassy bombing in Kabul

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, right, and Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani shake hands during a bilateral meeting on the sideline of the 15th SAARC Summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. Accusations that Pakistan helped a militant group bomb India's embassy in Afghanistan cast a cloud Friday over a South Asian summit aimed at fostering regional cooperation in the fight against terror. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Pakistan's prime minister on Saturday promised to investigate accusations that his country's intelligence agency was involved in the deadly July 7 bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul, a top Indian diplomat said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani also told his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, that he would discuss the matter with Afghanistan's president, India's Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon told reporters.

The prime ministers of India and Pakistan met in the Sri Lankan capital on Saturday on the sidelines of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation summit.

Both India and Afghanistan have accused Pakistan of involvement in the suicide bomb attack outside the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital on July 7, which killed more than 60 people.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency of backing the Taliban-led insurgency wracking the country. Pakistan has denied the charges.

On Saturday, Gilani told reporters that if Karzai provided any evidence of Pakistan's involvement in the attack, he would order an independent inquiry.

He also asked the Indian side to share any information it had to substantiate its charge that elements in Pakistan were behind the blast, the Indian foreign secretary said.

The New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. government officials, reported Friday that American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence were involved in the embassy attack.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq described the report as "total rubbish," denying any ISI involvement.

Relations between the longtime rivals have been on the mend since 2004 when they began talks on their competing claims to the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Pakistan and India have a long history of bitter relations and have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir -- which is divided between them but claimed by both -- since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

But progress in their Kashmir talks has been slow and deep distrust remains between the nuclear-armed neighbors, with New Delhi regularly blaming Islamabad for bombings and shootings that have plagued India in recent years.

India also has accused Pakistan of violating a cease-fire accord along the boundary that divides Kashmir between them. Indian and Pakistani forces traded gunfire earlier this week along the heavily fortified frontier. Soldiers fired on each other for more than 12 hours between Monday night and Tuesday morning, the worst violation of a 2003 cease-fire agreement between the neighbors.