A day after a bomb blast in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and two days after a similar explosion in India’s capital, New Delhi, tensions in South Asia have heightened. A blame game has intensified between the neighbours who are still reeling from a brief but intense conflict just six months ago.
Here is more about what happened in Islamabad and Delhi, and what Pakistani and Indian officials are saying about the attacks. While India has not officially blamed anyone, Delhi Police have invoked India’s primary “counterterrorism” law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, of 1967.
Police detained the original owner of the vehicle in which the explosion took place. The owner was identified as Mohammad Salman in the city of Gurugram in Haryana state on Delhi’s outskirts. Salman had purchased the vehicle in 2013.
Investigators revealed that Salman sold the vehicle to a man in New Delhi, who later resold it. The man who Salman sold the vehicle to has also been arrested. Despite the sales, the car remained registered in Salman’s name and bore a Haryana number plate, according to local media reports. But Pakistani officials have said that they expect India to blame Pakistan for the attack in Delhi.
While speaking to local media, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said, referring to the attack in Delhi: “I won’t be surprised if in the next few hours or tomorrow India blames us for this.” Less than 24 hours after the attack in Delhi, around 12:30pm (07:30 GMT) on Tuesday, an explosion took place at the entrance of the District Judicial Complex on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said to reporters that a “suicide bomber” detonated explosives near a police vehicle outside the gates of the court.
Naqvi added that the perpetrator tried to “enter the court premises but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle.”
The minister said that at least 12 people were killed in the attack in Islamabad and more than 30 were wounded, with at least five in critical condition. Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif has blamed “Indian proxies” for the attack on Islamabad, without providing evidence.
In a statement, Sharif said: “Terrorist attacks on unarmed citizens of Pakistan by India’s terrorist proxies are condemnable.” A day before the Islamabad attack, a car packed with explosives crashed into the campus entrance in district capital Wana. Security forces report that at least 300 cadets have been rescued, and operations to free the rest are still under way. Sharif has also blamed India for this attack.
Source: Here