Afghanistan Says Rabbani Killer Was Pakistani

The killer of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani was Pakistani, a statement from Afghanistan's presidential palace said Sunday, quoting investigators.

Evidence shows that Rabbani's death last month "was plotted in Quetta and the person who carried out the suicide attack against Rabbani was a citizen of Pakistan," the statement said.

It added that the killer had been living in Chaman, a Pakistani border town near Quetta.

Rabbani, chairman of President Hamid Karzai's High Peace Council, was killed by a turban suicide bomber at his home in Kabul on September 20.

He had thought that he was meeting a representative carrying a special message from the Taliban.

Karzai's government has been struggling to start talks with the Taliban in a bid to end the 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan but has made no meaningful progress.

Karzai's spokesman Siamak Herawi said Sunday that the president was reviewing his peace strategy, adding that he would reveal next steps "very soon".