Modi thanks Karzai for repelling terror strike on Indian Consulate in Heart

Foreign Secretary Sujata Singh said Tuesday that India and Afghanistan had a cordial and substantive meeting at the Hyderabad House here.

Addressing a press conference here this evening, Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for the cooperation provided by Afghan security forces in repelling the recent attack on the Indian Consulate in Herat.

It maybe recalled that the Indian Consulate was attacked on May 23 by gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

The assault, however, did not cause any injuries to diplomatic staff, police had said then.

Media reports quoted Indian diplomats, as saying then that there had been a threat against its diplomats in Afghanistan, but gave no other details.

The three gunmen opened fire on the consulate from a nearby home, Herat police chief Abdul Sami Qatra was quoted, as saying then.

Police killed two of the three gunmen, though one continued to fire on security forces trying to secure the area, Qatra said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin had then said that ITBP personnel held off the assault until Afghan forces arrived. He said all Indians at the consulate were safe.

On Monday (May 26), Karzai had told the Indian television channel Headlines Today that the banned terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) was behind the attack on the Indian consulate at Herat.

Without mincing words, Karzai said it would be in Islamabad's interest to uproot the sanctuaries and safe havens which terrorists have on Pakistan's soil.

Herat lies near Afghanistan's border with Iran and is considered one of the safer cities in the country, with a strong Iranian influence.

According to Foreign Secretary Singh, Prime Minister Modi also reiterated the Indian Government's committment to helping Afghanistan in its development and reconstruction efforts.