Former Afghan Prez condemns Kabul, Parwan blasts

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest term" the brazen blasts carried out by the Taliban that initially targeted the election rally of President Ashraf Ghani in Parwan and the Embassy of United States in central Kabul.

Former President Karzai condemns "in the strongest terms" today's "terrorist" attacks by the Taliban in Kabul and Parwan that left at least 48 people killed and scores more wounded, his office said in a statement as cited by Tolo News.

The explosion at the US Embassy came hours after 26 were killed in the central Afghan province of Parwan after a suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated explosives just after Ghani begins his speech, Tolo News reported.

Pakistan also strongly condemned the terrorist attack, saying "We offer our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families while praying for early recovery of those injured in the attack."

"Pakistan fully supports the Afghan efforts for restoring complete peace and stability in the country through the strengthening of the democratic process in Afghanistan," Pakistan's Foreign Office said in a statement.

Tuesday's attack near the US Embassy came nearly two weeks after an American soldier was killed in a deadly blast in Kabul.

US President Donald Trump had called off the negotiations with the Taliban in the wake of the incident and had also cancelled a "secret meeting" with Ghani at Camp David in the wake of the Kabul terror attack.

Despite Trump's decision, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the administration is still working toward a deal but it will not proceed until the Taliban delivers on its commitments.

The US has been negotiating with the Taliban in the last few months at Doha despite the group's reluctance to hold direct talks with the Afghan government, which it views as a US puppet.

Earlier, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said that the Trump administration had reached a deal 'in principle' to withdraw over 5,000 troops from Afghanistan in exchange for guarantees by the Taliban to not allow the war-torn country to be used as a base for attacks abroad.