Pakistani killed Burhanuddin Rabbani: Afghan govt

The Afghanistan government has cited investigations to claim that the killers of former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, its negotiator with the Taliban, were Pakistanis.

"Documents and evidence together with the biography, address and phone numbers of suspects involved in the incident have been submitted to the government of Pakistan in order to arrest and hand [suspects] over," the BBC quoted the Afghan government statement, as saying.

Rabbani was assassinated on September 20 by a suicide attacker who purported to be a Taliban peace envoy.

Afghanistan and the United States had often accused Pakistan''s intelligence agency, the ISI, of supporting militant groups, but the latter denied any role in Rabbani''s death.

After Rabbani's killing, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that his government would no longer hold peace talks with the Taliban, but would focus on dialogue with Pakistan.

A spokesman for Karzai, Siamak Herawi, said on Sunday that peace talks with the Taliban were suspended and that a new peace strategy would be spelled out "very soon".

"Taliban leader Mullah Omar doesn''t have an address... their peace emissary turns out to be a killer, whom should we talk to? The Afghan nation asks me who''s the other party that you hold talks with? My answer is, Pakistan," he added.