Pakistan Blames India and Afghanistan for Blast Despite Taliban Claim

Image: Jihad Watch

On Tuesday, November 11, Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad was shaken by a devastating suicide bombing outside the district court complex—an attack that claimed 12 innocent lives and left many more injured. The extremist group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) swiftly issued a public claim of responsibility, clearly outlining their motive and targets. Yet, instead of introspection or accountability, the Pakistani leadership has once again chosen the familiar path of externalising blame.

Despite Pakistan’s long-documented history of nurturing terror networks on its own soil, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was quick to accuse India, calling the bombing an example of “India’s state-sponsored terrorism.” His statement came even as recent developments highlighted the opposite: terrorist groups continue to operate openly in Pakistan. Not long after India’s Operation Sindoor—a series of precision strikes on terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir—Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Masood Ilyas was seen publicly addressing supporters. In that speech, he claimed that the Masood Azhar family was “torn into pieces” following Indian strikes in Bahawalpur, indirectly acknowledging both the presence and the targeting of terror leadership within Pakistan.

Adding to the rhetoric, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared, “We are in a state of war,” choosing once again to divert attention from Pakistan’s internal security failures. He pointed fingers at Afghanistan, claiming that “the rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan,” attempting to shift responsibility onto the Taliban regime. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi echoed similar sentiments in his interaction with reporters, alleging that the bombing had been orchestrated by “Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies.”

However, the TTP’s own statement leaves little ambiguity. In a message circulated to the press, including global news agency AFP, the group admitted they had specifically targeted judicial officials. “Our fighter attacked the judicial commission in Islamabad,” the TTP said. They accused Pakistani judges, lawyers, and court officers of enforcing what they called “un-Islamic laws.” The group further warned of continued violence, vowing more attacks “until Islamic Sharia law is implemented,” signalling a dangerous escalation in their ideological war against the Pakistani state.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)