A former Afghan president who heads a commission trying to encourage Taliban defections was slightly wounded in a suicide car bomb attack today that officials said killed two bombers and two civilians.
Sibghatullah Mojadidi, also chairman of the upper house of parliament, was being driven on a busy main road when attackers detonated a car laden with explosivee near his vehicle.
The Taliban claimed resposibility for the attack on a man it called "an American puppet", while Mr Mojadidi himself blamed neighbouring Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
Appearing at a news conference with bandages on his hands which he said covered burns from the blast, he said: "We had received intelligence from six channels that some individuals had entered Afghanistan to kill me by any possible means.
"Our biggest enemy today is Pakistan's ISI," he said adding that the network "was behind all of the attacks" carried out by Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's foreign ministry rejected the charge. "We condemn such attacks and loss of innocent lives," said spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam.
"These are baseless allegations and we reject them completely." Asked about Mr Mojadidi's comments, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the blast would be investigated.
"We will reveal the investigation and then will speak about it," he said.
Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah said Mojadidi sought to sew discord among the Taliban.
"Attacks against American puppets will continue," he said.
Mr Mojadidi's charge against Pakistan follow repeated complaints by Afghanistan's government that militants plan and organise attacks from sanctuaries inside Pakistan.
Pakistan, which officially ended its support for the Taliban after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States, says it does all it can to stop cross-border movement by militants.