The Ministry of External Affairs issued a sharp rebuttal on Tuesday night after Pakistan blamed India for a devastating ‘suicide attack’. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured after a suicide bomber struck outside the gates of a district court in Islamabad. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif soon claimed that the attack had originated in Afghanistan with “backing” from India.
“India unequivocally rejects the baseless and unfounded allegations being made by an obviously delirious Pakistani leadership. It is a predictable tactic by Pakistan to concoct false narratives against India in order to deflect the attention of its own public from the ongoing military-inspired constitutional subversion and power-grab unfolding within the country. The international community is well aware of the reality and will not be misled by Pakistan’s desperate diversionary ploys,” read the curt statement.
A suicide bomber had detonated his explosives near a police vehicle on Tuesday afternoon — killing at least 12 people and wounding 36 others. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said after visiting the site of the blast that the attacker had likely wanted to enter the court complex. But on failure, he detonated his explosives near a police vehicle at the gate of the building in the G-11 area of the capital at 12.39 pm local time.No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack, but such strikes are usually carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
‘Groups active with Indian support’
The MEA remarks came hours after Sharif accused groups “active with Indian support” of being involved in the attack. Meanwhile Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the Afghan Taliban has sent a message through the bombing. The PM claimed that the attack had been led by “India-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan at the Islamabad G-11”.
“Under Indian instigation, the Fitna al-Khawarij, operating from Afghanistan, also attacked innocent children in Wana at this time; it is time for the world to condemn such nefarious conspiracies of India. Both attacks are the worst examples of Indian state terrorism in the region,” the Pakistani PM office quoted Sharif as saying.
‘State of war’
The attack came days after the third round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban failed to reach any agreement to tackle the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan. Asif warned that Pakistan was in a state of war.
“Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today’s suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call: this is a war for all of Pakistan, in which the Pakistan Army is giving daily sacrifices and making the people feel secure.”
