'Deluding itself': MEA after Pakistan blames India for blast at Islamabad's Shia meeting hall

NEW DELHI: India on Friday strongly rejected Pakistan's allegations linking New Delhi to the suicide bomb attack at a Shia mosque in Islamabad. MEA called the claims "baseless and pointless" accusing Pakistan of choosing "to delude itself" by blaming others for its internal problems.At least 31 people were killed and more than 169 injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up during Friday prayers at the Khadijatul Kubra mosque-cum-imambargah in the Tarlai area of Pakistan’s federal capital, police sources told news agency PTI.Responding to accusations made by Pakistani leaders, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India unequivocally rejected any suggestion of its involvement."The bombing at an Islamabad mosque earlier today is condemnable and India condoles the loss of life it has caused," Jaiswal said."It is unfortunate that, instead of seriously addressing the problems plaguing its social fabric, Pakistan should choose to delude itself by blaming others for its home-grown ills. India rejects any and every such allegation, which is as baseless as it is pointless," he added in a statement posted on X.

The remarks came after Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif claimed that India and Afghanistan were involved in the attack, without presenting any evidence. In a social media post, Asif said, "It has been proved the terrorist involved in the attack travelled to and from Afghanistan. The collusion between India and Afghanistan is being revealed."Asif said security guards at the Imambargah confronted the attacker, who opened fire before blowing himself up. "He then blew himself up, standing in the last row of worshippers," he claimed, adding that the state would respond to this "cruelty with full force".Pakistan's minister of state for interior Tallal Chaudhry later told the media that while the attacker was not an Afghan national, forensic analysis had established how many times he had travelled to Afghanistan."They (terrorists) are not carrying out attacks for religion, but for dollars … Whether they belong to the BLA, TTP or any other group, they are paid in dollars," Chaudhry said, referring to the Balochistan Liberation Army and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. He added further that Islamabad had repeatedly urged Afghanistan "not to provide space to terrorists and not to become India’s proxy".President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the blast, saying, "Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity." Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed "deep grief" and said he "strongly condemned" the attack.Several countries, including Iran, the US and the UK, also condemned the attack.Friday’s blast came less than three months after a suicide bomber killed 12 people in an explosion outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad, highlighting Pakistan’s ongoing struggle with militant violence.