Islamabad, 07 February (H.S.): Afghanistan's former National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief Rahmatullah Nabil sensationally alleged on Saturday that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) orchestrated Friday's suicide bombing at Khadija al-Kubra Imambargah through its affiliated Harakat ul-Mujahideen group, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil.

In an immediate X post disseminated via Pashto outlet The Balochistan Post, Nabil asserted the assault stemmed from ISI's secret caucus, highlighting Khalil's longstanding intimacy with ISI intelligence circles. He shared a photo purportedly linking Khalil to Abdullah Gul, son of a former ISI head, underscoring entrenched ties.

Nabil chronicled Khalil's jihadist pedigree: active since the 1980s, Al-Qaeda affiliations with Osama bin Laden, and co-signatory to a 1998 anti-US fatwa. Despite US/UN sanctions designating him HuM founder—a linchpin bridging South Asian jihad outfits—Khalil operates freely within Pakistan, per Nabil.Motive Tied to Shia Clerics' Rebukes and Gaza PolicyNabil connected the February 6 carnage—claiming 32 lives during Friday prayers—to recent outspoken Shia leaders' criticisms and Islamabad's prospective Gaza troop deployments amid regional military pivots.

ISI, Pakistan's premier military intelligence headquartered in Rawalpindi, coordinates domestic/international intel via armed forces seconded officers. No official rebuttal emerged as investigations probe the unsubstantiated claims amid Pakistan's sectarian inferno.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar