Deserves contempt: India rejects Pakistan's claim linking it to Waziristan attack

India on Saturday rejected Pakistan’s attempt to blame it for a deadly suicide bombing in North Waziristan, where 13 Pakistani soldiers were killed.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) condemned the accusation, saying, "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."

Earlier in the day, a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into a military convoy in the North Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The blast killed 13 soldiers and injured 10 others, along with 19 civilians, according to a local government official quoted by news agency AFP.

The suicide bombing was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group’s suicide unit, a faction aligned with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The attack marks yet another instance of escalating violence in Pakistan’s tribal regions. Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has witnessed a sharp surge in attacks in its border areas. Islamabad has frequently accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering militants responsible for these cross-border assaults, an allegation Kabul denies.

According to the news agency AFP, around 290 people, mostly security forces, have lost their lives in attacks by anti-government groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan so far this year.

- Ends