Afghanistan's Nangarhar car bomb blast: ISI link suspected

The Afghanistan government has blamed the Taliban group for the attack.

"The President stressed that although the Taliban signed an agreement with the United States, they didn’t live up to their commitments and only stopped their attacks on foreign troops," a Presidential Palace statement read quoting Ashraf Ghani's reaction.

He added the Taliban, like today, continue to perpetrate their acts of terror in collusion with other terrorist groups, massacre civilians and damage public facilities on daily basis.

President Ashraf Ghani conveyed his deepest sympathies to the families who lost their loved ones and ordered the relevant authorities to mobilize all available resources to reach out to the families affected by the attack.

Ahmad Shuja, DG for international affairs & regional cooperation, Office of the National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, tweeted: "Images of dead and injured children in Taliban's car bomb in Nangarhar are too gruesome to share, but the toll today is a stark reminder of the real cost of the Taliban's daily acts of terrorism. The group is using the lives civilians to bargain for more power. Unconscionable."

People reacted to the tweet and blamed Pakistan for the incidents.

One Twitter user Fareed Hasan posted: "Only because of Pakistan we are in these days."

The United Nations has strongly condemned Saturday’s suicide attack on a government building in Nangarhar province, eastern Afghanistan, and underlined that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

At least 13 people were killed and dozens more injured in the attack that targeted a district administrative building in Shinwar, where many civilians were present.

In a statement by his spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that those behind such crimes must be held accountable.

“The Secretary-General reiterates the urgency of achieving a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The United Nations remains committed to support the people and Government of Afghanistan in this important endeavour,” the statement added.

Guterres also expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

UN Mission ‘outraged’

In a separate message on its twitter account, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expressed “outrage” at the killing of civilians.

“Extremists and spoilers need shunning,” it said, expressing full support to Afghans promoting a non-violent negotiated settlement to the conflict.

The attack came as representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban are engaged in negotiations in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to end the conflict in the country which has raged for four decades, claiming thousands of lives and displacing millions over the years.