Police officer stand guard as members of media film inside the premises of the district Malir prison from where more than 100 inmates escaped overnight, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)
India has firmly rejected allegations made by Pakistan that it had a role in the deadly suicide bombing in North Waziristan that left 13 Pakistani soldiers dead. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) dismissed the charge, calling it both baseless and deeply contemptible.
“We have seen an official statement by the Pakistan Army seeking to blame India for the attack in Waziristan on June 28. We reject this statement with the contempt it deserves,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The bombing, which occurred on Saturday, involved a vehicle-borne attacker who rammed into a military convoy in the Mir Ali area of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In addition to the 13 military fatalities, 24 people sustained injuries — among them, 10 soldiers and 14 civilians — according to local officials.
Despite no official claim initially, Pakistani media later reported that the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), took responsibility for the bombing. This group has been described by regional analysts as particularly violent, even in comparison to the TTP itself.
Pakistan Army Alleges Indian-Backed Group Behind Deadly Waziristan Attack
However, Pakistan’s military appeared to suggest foreign involvement. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, stated, “In their desperation, an explosive-laden vehicle was rammed by the Indian sponsored kharijis into one of the vehicles of the leading group.” It further said, “Thirteen brave sons of the soil, embraced shahadat martyrdom and in this tragic and barbaric incident, two children and a woman were also severely injured.”
Pakistan’s ISPR also used the incident to accuse New Delhi of backing terrorism. “The security forces of Pakistan, in step with the nation, remain steadfast in their resolve to eradicate Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the statement read, claiming that the loss of soldiers would only strengthen national resolve.
India, in turn, categorically denied any involvement and accused Pakistan of deflecting blame from its deteriorating internal security situation, which has worsened since the Taliban’s return to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the incident, honoring the soldiers killed in the line of duty. “The martyrs ensured the security of the motherland by sacrificing their lives,” he said. “Such a cowardly attack cannot dampen the morale of the nation.”
Waziristan Blast Follows Army Operation That Killed 11 Militants, 2 Soldiers
Saturday’s explosion followed closely on the heels of a military operation in South Waziristan, where two Pakistani soldiers were killed and 11 militants were reported eliminated during an intelligence-based operation, according to The Dawn.
Violence in Pakistan’s border regions has escalated significantly over the last few years. Officials in Islamabad often blame militant groups operating from Afghan soil for attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, an accusation the Taliban administration in Kabul has repeatedly denied.
According to AFP, approximately 290 individuals—most of them security personnel—have been killed in attacks in the region so far this year. The Global Terrorism Index 2025 recently ranked Pakistan as the world’s second most-affected country by terrorism, with fatalities rising by 45 percent to over 1,000 in the past year alone.
