The Ministry of External Affairs has strongly rejected Pakistan’s allegation that India was behind a suicide car bomb attack on a military convoy in North Waziristan, which killed 13 soldiers and injured dozens a day earlier.
“We have seen an official statement by the Pakistan Army seeking to blame India for the attack on Waziristan on 28 June. We reject this statement with the contempt it deserves,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Sunday in a statement on X.
The Pakistan Army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy travelling through the Khadi Market area of Mir Ali, North Waziristan district. The attack left 13 soldiers dead, while 10 army personnel and 19 civilians sustained injuries.
“A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a military convoy. The blast killed 13 soldiers, injured 10 army personnel and 19 civilians,” a local government official in North Waziristan said on condition of anonymity.
The ISPR claimed the assault was the work of Fitna-al-Khawarij, a group suspected to be aligned with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The attack occurred just days after two soldiers and 11 militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in neighbouring South Waziristan, according to reports in The Dawn.
Also read: 16 soldiers killed in suicide bombing in Pakistan
No militant organisation has formally claimed responsibility for the bombing. However, Pakistani authorities have linked the incident to what they describe as a growing nexus of armed groups operating along the country’s western frontier.
Since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, Pakistan has reported a sharp rise in attacks in its border regions. According to a report, nearly 290 people, primarily security personnel, have been killed in terrorist incidents this year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing Pakistani militants to use Afghan territory to launch attacks — a charge Kabul has consistently denied. India, in its response to Pakistan’s latest accusation, has reiterated that the focus should remain on addressing the internal security issues within Pakistan.
New Delhi has also consistently denied any involvement in Pakistan’s internal conflicts, calling the repeated allegations “politically motivated” and “factually baseless”.
Saturday’s bombing has further strained relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, which have remained tense since the Pulwama attack in 2019 and the subsequent Indian air strike in Balakot. Diplomatic engagement between the two sides has remained minimal.
In the aftermath of the attack, Mir Ali remained heavily cordoned off, with army and police units deployed to secure the area and conduct further investigations. Local reports indicate that several homes and shops in the vicinity of the blast were damaged, and many residents were treated for minor injuries caused by flying debris.
Authorities have not released further details regarding the ongoing investigation.
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