Kazakh Foreign Ministry Condemns Kabul Terrorist Attack

ASTANA. KAZINFORM The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has issued a statement condemning the recent terrorist attack in the Afghan capital. "Kazakhstan strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, which resulted in the death of a large number of civilians, including foreign citizens..." the statement reads. Kazakh MFA noted that "this brutal and defiant act presents a challenge not only for Afghanistan but for the entire international community, which is striving to restore peace and development in this long-suffering country." Kazakhstan has re-stated the need for urgent measures to solve the Afghan terrorist problem and called on all the country's political forces to begin negotiations on national reconciliation, stressing that it will continue providing comprehensive assistance to stabilization in Afghanistan, suppressing terrorism and rebuilding the country, including in its capacity of the President of the Security Council. As previously reported, on January 19, the UN Security Council adopted a Presidential Statement calling on the international community to provide support to Afghanistan in order to stabilize the political situation in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan extended its condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and wished soon recovery to those injured in the attack. As reported earlier, the Saturday's attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, which was later claimed by the Taliban, took the lives of at least 18 people, including one Kazakh citizen.