Terming the Kabul embassy bombing as an attack on Indo-Afghan friendship, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today declared that it will not deter New Delhi from continuing its reconstruction of the war-torn country and announced a fresh assistance worth $450 million for it.
After his talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai against the "backdrop of serious threat posed by terrorism to security and stability of Afghanistan, India and the region", Singh said the two leaders agreed to fight the menace "unitedly and with firm determination".
Addressing mediapersons along with Karzai, Singh said the two leaders decided that they will not allow terrorism to stand in the way of the boosting the friendly relations between their countries.
The Prime Minister noted that Karzai's visit was taking place at a "critical juncture" in India, Afghanistan and the region.
"The attack on our embassy in Kabul on July 7 has tragically shown that terrorism has no barriers and is not bound by restraints," Singh said.
"It was an attack on the friendship between India and Afghanistan," he said.
Condemning the embassy attack in Kabul as well as the serial bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, Karzai said Afghanistan and India face the same challenge of terrorism and "cold-blooded murderous activities".
He said the two countries as also the world at large have "no option but to be united in the fight against terrorism" as it is "our moral responsibility as human beings to protect" the people.