ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi strongly condemned the suicide blast near a shrine in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, which officials said killed up to 26 people and injured 18 others.

Afghan officials said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a time when thousands of people were gathered to celebrate Nawroz or the solar new year.

"The Prime Minister strongly condemned suicide blast at a shrine in Kabul today in which many precious lives were lost while a number of people got injured," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

Talking to the Afghan ambassador Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal in a meeting, the prime minister expressed Pakistan's solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan over this brutal act of terrorism.

Abbasi also reiterated Pakistan's support to the efforts for Afghan reconciliation under an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.

Reports suggest that the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the Wednesday's attack, which mostly killed and injured Shiite Muslims.