April 27, 2008
No. 100
The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the terrorist attack that took place in Kabul during a ceremony marking the 16th anniversary of the liberation of Afghanistan:
"Canada strongly condemns the terrorist attack at today's ceremony in Kabul. This senseless act of violence injured and killed innocent Afghans, including civilians and security personnel. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims. We also wish a full and speedy recovery to those who were injured. This attack will not deter us in our support for the Afghan people, President Karzai, the Afghan government and parliamentarians.
"Canada has conveyed this support today to the President's office, through our Ambassador to Afghanistan, Arif Lalani, who was at the event but was not injured.
"The Afghan security forces and government are responding quickly. They will have our full support in their efforts to investigate today's attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.
"To date, there have been no reports of Canadian injuries. The Canadian Embassy in Kabul is monitoring events closely in order to further assess the situation."
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