Even after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed 12 people in Islamabad on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has blamed India for the attack.
Sharif condemned the perpetrators, calling them “Indian-sponsored terrorist proxies”. According to Pakistan’s state news agency APP, he said, “These attacks are a continuation of India’s state-sponsored terrorism aimed at destabilizing Pakistan.”
In the past, New Delhi has repeatedly rejected such accusations from Islamabad.
Without presenting evidence, Sharif also linked the Islamabad blast to another attack that occurred on Monday outside a Cadet College in Wana, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which killed three people. Security officials said that the banned TTP was responsible for that incident as well.
Speaking at the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference in Islamabad, Sharif urged Afghanistan to act against the TTP, saying, “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 on X through the official Government of Pakistan account, he claimed that the Islamabad suicide attack “originated from Afghanistan with India’s backing.”
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of sheltering the TTP, a charge Kabul denies. “No condemnation is enough for these attacks being carried out from Afghan soil under Indian patronage,” Sharif said.
Tuesday’s bombing took place at Islamabad’s G-11 judicial complex. Sharif said such incidents “cannot shake Pakistan’s resolve to root out terrorism completely.”
Islamabad has mostly been free from major militant violence in recent years, but the country has seen a renewed wave of attacks in 2025. Officials blame armed groups allegedly operating from Afghan soil.
The blast in Islamabad came as Pakistani forces battled militants in Wana, near the Afghan border. The recent surge in violence follows deadly border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan in October, which killed more than 70 people.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
