Amid rising tensions, India on Sunday vehemently rejected accusations from the Pakistan Army alleging Indian involvement in a deadly suicide bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement unequivocally dismissing Pakistan’s claims as “contemptible.” “We have seen an official statement by the Pakistan Army seeking to blame India for the attack in Waziristan on 28 June. We reject this statement with the contempt it deserves,” it said in an official statement.
The June 28 attack, which resulted in the deaths of at least 16 Pakistani soldiers and injuries to two dozen others, including civilians, was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The suicide bomber targeted a military convoy with an explosive-laden vehicle. The impact was severe enough to cause the collapse of two house roofs, injuring six children.
The attack sparked strong condemnation from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who described it as a “cowardly act.” Pakistan’s Army Chief, Asim Munir, vowed swift retribution against those undermining the country’s internal stability, while simultaneously, and without providing evidence, blaming Indian proxies.
This accusation, however, is not an isolated incident. The volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, has witnessed a surge in violent attacks recently. In mid-March, the TTP launched a “spring campaign,” promising a wave of ambushes, targeted killings, suicide bombings, and other attacks. Since then, the TTP has claimed responsibility for roughly 100 attacks in the province alone. According to the AFP, around 290 people, primarily security personnel, have died in attacks by armed groups operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan since the beginning of the year.
The escalating violence has fueled a cycle of accusations between Islamabad and the Taliban government in Kabul. Pakistan accuses the Taliban of failing to curb militants using Afghan territory as a launching pad for attacks. The Taliban, in turn, reciprocates these accusations, alleging Pakistan’s harboring of terrorist cells.