Demonstrators protested outside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul on Thursday as senior Afghan officials said they had handed over evidence connecting insurgents based in Pakistan with a<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/campaign-launched-in-kabul-over-recent-attacks-31452" target="_blank"> recent spate of attacks</a> that killed well over 100 people.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-extends-afghan-refugees-repatriation-deadline-31445" target="_blank">Pakistan extends Afghan refugees&#39; repatriation deadline</a>

The protest, in which dozens of people burnt flags and chanted, &quot;Death to Pakistan&quot;, was not large, but it came during a period of heightened tension in the Afghan capital following two major attacks in the past two weeks.

On Thursday, Interior Minister Wais Barmak and Masooom Stanekzai, head of the NDS intelligence service, returned from a visit to Islamabad, where they had pressed Pakistani authorities to move against Taliban leaders based in the country.

&quot;We provided Pakistan with documents about Taliban operating centers inside Pakistan and we expect Pakistan to act against them,&quot; Barmak told a news conference in Kabul.

However, he declined to provide details on the information provided, citing the need to keep operational intelligence secret while investigations continued.

A Pakistani security delegation is due to visit Kabul on Saturday to continue the discussion, which comes as the United States has cut off some aid to Pakistan over what it calls its failure to crack down on militants attacking in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to Taliban and other insurgents, a charge Pakistan denies, pointing to the thousands of casualties it has suffered from militant violence over the years.

Last month, the Taliban claimed two major attacks in Kabul, one on the Intercontinental Hotel, which killed more than 30 people and a second that killed more than 100 people when an ambulance packed with explosives blew up on a crowded street.

The attacks in the heavily protected city center fuelled fresh worries about the Western-backed government`s ability to provide security and combat the Taliban insurgency.

On Thursday, the defence ministry issued a statement that dismissed as &quot;exaggerated&quot; a BBC report that the Taliban were operating in 70 percent of Afghanistan and said the army was involved in 14 separate operations.

But despite a sharp rise in US air strikes that commanders say have put heavy pressure on the Taliban and driven them back from major provincial centers, their ability to strike urban targets and undermine confidence in the government appears unaffected.

Demonstrators protested outside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul on Thursday as senior Afghan officials said they had handed over evidence connecting insurgents based in Pakistan with a recent spate of attacks that killed well over 100 people

Demonstrators protested outside the Pakistani embassy in Kabul on Thursday as senior Afghan officials said they had handed over evidence connecting insurgents based in Pakistan with a recent spate of attacks that killed well over 100 people. Also read: Pakistan extends Afghan refugees' repatriation deadline The protest, in which dozens of people burnt flags and chanted, "Death to Pakistan", was not large, but it came during a period of heightened tension in the Afghan capital following two major attacks in the past two weeks. On Thursday, Interior Minister Wais Barmak and Masooom Stanekzai, head of the NDS intelligence service, returned from a visit to Islamabad, where they had pressed Pakistani authorities to move against Taliban leaders based in the country. "We provided Pakistan with documents about Taliban operating centers inside Pakistan and we expect Pakistan to act against them," Barmak told a news conference in Kabul. However, he declined to provide details on the information provided, citing the need to keep operational intelligence secret while investigations continued. A Pakistani security delegation is due to visit Kabul on Saturday to continue the discussion, which comes as the United States has cut off some aid to Pakistan over what it calls its failure to crack down on militants attacking in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of providing safe haven to Taliban and other insurgents, a charge Pakistan denies, pointing to the thousands of casualties it has suffered from militant violence over the years. Last month, the Taliban claimed two major attacks in Kabul, one on the Intercontinental Hotel, which killed more than 30 people and a second that killed more than 100 people when an ambulance packed with explosives blew up on a crowded street. The attacks in the heavily protected city center fuelled fresh worries about the Western-backed government`s ability to provide security and combat the Taliban insurgency. On Thursday, the defence ministry issued a statement that dismissed as "exaggerated" a BBC report that the Taliban were operating in 70 percent of Afghanistan and said the army was involved in 14 separate operations. But despite a sharp rise in US air strikes that commanders say have put heavy pressure on the Taliban and driven them back from major provincial centers, their ability to strike urban targets and undermine confidence in the government appears unaffected.

Afghanistan says it has proof attackers trained in Pakistan

<div style="text-align: justify;">Suspected Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan killed 12 people after stopping their vehicles on a road in the east of the country, while kidnapping 50 people in the north,&nbsp;officials said today. 
 
The Taliban have made considerable gains in fighting in various parts of the country in recent months. The killing of their leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in a US drone attack last month has had no discernable impact on the violence. 
 
Attackers in the eastern province of Ghazni stopped two cars late on Tuesday and shot dead everyone they found. Several members of the security forces were among those killed, said Jawid Salangi a spokesman for the provincial governor. 
 
&quot;Taliban ordered the passengers out and brutally shot them,&quot; Salangi said.&nbsp;Villagers later found 12 bodies, he said. 
 
Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. 
 
A suspected Taliban stopped a bus and a car near the northern city of Kunduz and took all 50 in the vehicles hostage, a police spokesman in the area, Mahfozullah Akbari, said. 
 
&quot;We are putting all our efforts into freeing them as soon as we can,&quot; he said. 
 
Travellers have faced a string of murders and kidnappings on roads in the recent weeks&nbsp;with the attack being the latest in the spate of highway killings. 
 
The Taliban insurgents had killed at least nine people and kidnapped 20 when they held up three buses in Kunduz late last month.</div>

Suspected Taliban insurgents stopped two cars and shot dead all occupants in the eastern province of Ghazni

Suspected Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan killed 12 people after stopping their vehicles on a road in the east of the country, while kidnapping 50 people in the north, officials said today. The Taliban have made considerable gains in fighting in various parts of the country in recent months. The killing of their leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, in a US drone attack last month has had no discernable impact on the violence. Attackers in the eastern province of Ghazni stopped two cars late on Tuesday and shot dead everyone they found. Several members of the security forces were among those killed, said Jawid Salangi a spokesman for the provincial governor. "Taliban ordered the passengers out and brutally shot them," Salangi said. Villagers later found 12 bodies, he said. Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. A suspected Taliban stopped a bus and a car near the northern city of Kunduz and took all 50 in the vehicles hostage, a police spokesman in the area, Mahfozullah Akbari, said. "We are putting all our efforts into freeing them as soon as we can," he said. Travellers have faced a string of murders and kidnappings on roads in the recent weeks with the attack being the latest in the spate of highway killings. The Taliban insurgents had killed at least nine people and kidnapped 20 when they held up three buses in Kunduz late last month.

12 killed, 50 injured in Afghan highway attacks

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Afghanistan says it has proof attackers trained in Pakistan

12 killed, 50 injured in Afghan highway attacks