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'Contempt it deserves': India slams Pakistan for accusation over Waziristan bombing
New Delhi has strongly rejected Pakistan's accusation that it was behind a deadly suicide bombing in North Waziristan, in which 16 soldiers were killed, calling it contemptible. read more
India on Saturday slammed Pakistan for its false claim that it was behind a deadly suicide bombing in North Waziristan that killed 16 Pakistani soldiers.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the allegation, saying, '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 has long been a tactic of Pakistan and its de facto rulers, the Army, to blame India for problems within their own country. Pakistan has long persecuted the Baloch people, depriving them of essential resources and exploiting their region. The same is true of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which remains one of the country's most backward regions.
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Though the Pakistan Army uses terror as a tool of state policy against India, it continues to deflect responsibility for internal security failures.
Earlier that day, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a military convoy in North Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The blast killed 16 soldiers and injured 10 others, along with 19 civilians, according to a local official cited by AFP.
The attack was claimed by the suicide unit of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which is linked to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Violence has been rising in Pakistan's tribal regions. Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, attacks in Pakistan's border areas have sharply increased. Islamabad often accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering militants who carry out these cross-border strikes, but Kabul denies the allegations.
So far this year, about 290 people—mostly security personnel—have been killed in attacks by anti-government groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, AFP reports.
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