Pakistan on Wednesday asked Afghanistan to provide evidence to support accusations that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi killed 55 people in an unprecedented attack on Shiite Muslims in Kabul. "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is a banned organisation. We would encourage Kabul to share with us evidence, if any through official channels," foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP by text message.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the Pakistan-based group for Tuesday's bombing, demanding justice from Islamabad. The faction, which has links to al Qaeda, has been blamed for killing thousands of Shiite Muslims and whipping up sectarian hatred in Pakistan. It also has reported links to Pakistani intelligence.

Islamabad's relations with Kabul and Washington deteriorated drastically since a covert American raid killed Osama bin Laden near the Pakistani capital on May 2, fuelled largely by accusations that Pakistan sponsors militants. Kabul also accused Islamabad of hindering the investigation into the September murder of its peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani, which it claimed was plotted in Pakistan.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011