"Those who celebrated the fall of Kabul..." Pashtun leader slams Pakistan's Afghan policy

Islamabad [Pakistan], December 23 : As militancy continues to rise in Pakistan, Pashtun leader Mohsin Dawar on Friday said architects of the country's Afghan policy are responsible for bloodshed in the Islamic nation.
In an apparent attack on the country's political and military establishment, Dawar said those who celebrated the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August last year are responsible for militancy in the country.
"We have been warning for long that terrorism will not remain limited to Pakhtunkhwa. It was proven in the past and is being proven again now. The architects of Pakistan's Afghan policy, their facilitators and those who celebrated fall of Kabul are responsible for this bloodshed," Member of the National Assembly Dawar said in a tweet.
Dawar's tweet comes as Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the explosion in Islamabad that killed a policeman and injured six other people after a car with explosives blasted near a clinic in the federal capital, Pakistani media reported.
The Islamabad Police declared a "red alert" in the city shortly after the blast, Dawn newspaper reported.
"Security has been re-alert in Islamabad. Carrying weapons is not allowed under any circumstances. Election-related meetings will not take place without the permission of the police. Election activities and corner meetings will be allowed inside the four walls," Islamabad Police tweeted.
The report said the explosion occurred after the police stopped the car for a check. One police officer had died and at least six people including four police officers and two civilians were injured in the blast.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast and sought a report from authorities. "Due to the timely action of the law enforcement agencies, the nefarious plan of terrorists to shed the blood of innocent people has been foiled," he said in a statement.
The rise in militancy in Pakistan comes after the outlawed TPP announced the suspension of the ceasefire with the government and instructed the Islamic group's fighters to carry out attacks all over the country.
TTP has been recognized as a terrorist group by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Being an umbrella organization, it opposes the governments of India and Pakistan and seeks control over parts of their territory.
TTP is allied with the Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August last year. The radical Islamic outfit has stepped up attacks since it announced the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered ceasefire with the government in November.
In an editorial, Dawn said Pakistan is witnessing the rapid unravelling of Pakistan's anti-terrorism policy, and can expect an escalating human and material cost.