India on Tuesday sharply rebuked Pakistan after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused New Delhi of orchestrating the suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed at least 12 people, despite the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claiming responsibility for the attack.
In a strongly worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said: “India unequivocally rejects the baseless and unfounded allegations being made by an obviously delirious Pakistani leadership.”
‘Desperate diversionary ploy’: MEA
The ministry accused Pakistan’s leadership of using false narratives to distract from its own domestic turmoil. “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 statement read.
“The international community is well aware of the reality and will not be misled by Pakistan’s desperate diversionary ploys,” it added.
Sharif links blast to India, Afghanistan
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Sharif had alleged that the Islamabad explosion was carried out by “Indian-sponsored terrorist proxies.” The blast tore through the G-11 judicial complex in the capital on Tuesday, killing 12 people and injuring several others.
“These attacks are a continuation of India’s state-sponsored terrorism aimed at destabilising Pakistan,” Sharif claimed, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
Without offering evidence, the Pakistani leader also blamed the same network—purportedly operating from Afghan territory—for another attack on Monday outside a Cadet College in Wana, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. That explosion left three people dead. Security officials in Pakistan, however, said both incidents were claimed by the banned TTP.
Addressing the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference in Islamabad, Sharif said, “Afghanistan must understand that lasting peace can only be realised by reining in TTP and other terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory.”
In a post from the Government of Pakistan’s official X account, Sharif alleged that the Islamabad suicide bombing “originated in Afghanistan with India’s backing.”
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of providing safe haven to armed groups, particularly the TTP, which frequently claims responsibility for deadly attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban have consistently denied such allegations.
Reiterating his charge, Sharif said: “No condemnation is enough for these attacks being carried out from Afghan soil under Indian patronage.”
