Pakistan on Wednesday strongly condemned yesterday’s heinous terrorist attack on a mosque in the Afghan city of Herat, which resulted in one person being killed and injured.
At least six people, including the mosque’s imam and a three-year-old child, were killed in the attack, which locals said targeted the Shiite minority community.
“People and government of Pakistan express their condolences to people of Afghanistan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time of grief.
“Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its shapes and forms, including hate attacks on places of worship,” he said.
While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, Daesh’s regional branch is the biggest threat in Afghanistan and often targets the Shia community.
The Taliban government has promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities since returning to power in August 2021, but rights monitors say they have done little to fulfill that promise.
The highest-profile attack linked to Daesh since the Taliban came to power was in 2022, when an attack on an education center killed at least 53 people, including 46 girls and young women.
Taliban officials blamed Daesh for the attacks in Shiite neighborhoods of the capital, Kabul.
Afghanistan’s new rulers say they have driven Daesh out of the country and say the group has found a safe haven since foreign forces withdrew.
Taliban leaders often cite death tolls after bombings and gunfire from other sources, or clearly reduce them to minimize security threats.
A UN Security Council report published in January attributed the decline in Daesh attacks in Afghanistan to “Taliban counter-terrorism efforts.”
But the report said Daesh was still recruiting “heavily” in the country and the militant group had “the ability to pose a threat in the region and beyond”.