Afghans Lay Blame on Pakistan

Afghanistan accused Pakistan of sheltering Taliban militants yesterday as police questioned three Pakistani men allegedly caught plotting to assassinate the US ambassador to Kabul.

"Senior members of the Taliban, including some considered terrorists, are in Pakistan," said a presidential spokesman, Javed Ludin.

"Our people are dying, our schools are getting burned, our mosques are getting blown up and our clergy are getting assassinated."

Afghan intelligence agents arrested the three men on Sunday near where Zalmay Khalilzad was due to speak at a road opening in Laghman province, near the Pakistani border.

The deputy intelligence chief, Abdullah Laghmanai, said the men had made a full confession. Other officials said they had been trained at a secret camp 20 miles from Islamabad.

Pakistan's information minister, Sheikh Ahmed Rashid, angrily denied claims of any official sanction for the plot and described Mr Ludin's statement as "most irresponsible".

Mr Khalilzad left Afghanistan on Monday for his new role as the US envoy in Iraq.