Pak shuts Kabul mission after raid

‘‘We hold the Afghan government squarely responsible, not only for negligence but for stage-managing this show, for creating the environment in which such an attack could take place,’’ Ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand said.

About 2,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Kabul for a second day on Tuesday to protest over the alleged Pakistani border intrusion. Pakistan has denied its forces entered Afghan territory.

Some protestors broke away from the main rally and forced their way into the embassy, witnesses said. Witnesses later saw broken windows, smashed TV sets, computers and fans and a partly-burnt Pakistani flag.

The protestors were evicted by Afghan security forces who sealed off the mission. Peacekeepers from Kabul’s International Security Assistance Force monitored the situation, a witness said.

Mohmand said his staff had to hide in the basement during the raid by 500 protestors, according to his estimate.

‘‘I have closed the mission,’’ he said.

Later, Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the raid on the embassy. ‘‘Those who committed this act are not the enemies of Pakistan. They are the enemies of Afghanistan, peace in Afghanistan,’’ Karzai said. ‘‘I will speak with the President of Pakistan, first to apologise and to seek explanation for his utterances,’’ Karzai said. He was responding to comments by Musharraf, on a recent tour, in which he questioned the authority of Karzai’s government. (Reuters)