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Today's Paper | November 22, 2024

Updated 16 Apr, 2016 12:20am

Pakistan denies involvement in deadly 2009 attack on CIA base in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday dismissed as preposterous reports that its intelligence agency helped fund a 2009 suicide bombing on a CIA outpost in Afghanistan that was one of the deadliest attacks in the US spy agency's history.

A heavily redacted US government document, released under the Freedom of Information Act, said that an unidentified officer of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence directorate allegedly paid $200,000 to the Haqqani network to facilitate the bombing.

The attack, at a site known as Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost, Afghanistan, killed seven and wounded six.

Know more: `A devastating blow` for agency: Targeted CIA base oversaw drone strikes

“Allegations in the media on Pakistan's involvement with HQN are preposterous,” a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement, using an acronym for the Haqqani network, which the United States has designated as a terrorist organisation.

“In fact, we were shocked and deeply saddened when precious American lives were lost at the Chapman facility in 2009 in an unfortunate attack that was later claimed by TTP in a publicly available video, featuring the suicide bomber with the leader of the TTP,” the statement said.

“Pakistan is determined to eradicate the scourge of terrorism and has taken action against all terrorist elements, without discrimination,” it added.

The spokesman said it would be further recalled that over the past years, Pakistan has through a series of military operations, severely damaged and weakened the TTP and other militant and terrorist organisations.

"We wish to remind that Pakistan is among the biggest victims of terrorism, having lost tens of thousands of innocent lives, including over five thousand valiant personnel of law enforcement agencies, and economic losses to the tune of a hundred billion dollars."

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