Twin Terror Attack: Pakistan Implicates Afghanistan and India in Deadly Islamabad Court Blast
London-UK, November 12, 2025
Pakistan Officials Implicate Afghanistan and India as Explosion Hits Islamabad Courts
In a severe escalation of regional tensions, senior Pakistani officials, including the Prime Minister and Defence Minister, have officially implicated neighbouring Afghanistan and rival India following a deadly suicide bombing that struck outside the District Judicial Complex in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The attack, which killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more, marks a return of high-profile civilian terror to the heart of the capital and was immediately framed by Islamabad as a proxy operation.
The government has openly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the militants responsible and alleged the attack was carried out by “Indian-sponsored terrorist proxies”—allegations vehemently denied by both Kabul and New Delhi, creating a perilous geopolitical flashpoint in South Asia.
Key Headlines
Suicide Attack Confirmed:
The blast was confirmed as a suicide bombing after forensics teams recovered the severed head of the attacker near the gate of the judicial complex. The target appeared to be a police vehicle after the bomber failed to breach the main entrance.
TTP Claims/Denies:
While the main faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) denied involvement, an affiliated group reportedly claimed responsibility, stating the goal was to target judicial officials operating under “un-Islamic laws.”
Immediate Blame:
Within hours of the explosion, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed “Indian-backed militants” for the Islamabad attack and accused the Afghan Taliban of acting as an “Indian proxy” in a separate, simultaneous attack on a cadet college near the Afghan border.
State of War:
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned that the country was in a “state of war” and issued a direct warning to Kabul: if Afghan authorities fail to rein in the militants, Pakistan reserves the right to take direct action.
The explosion occurred around 12:30 p.m. local time outside the G-11 District Judicial Complex, a usually crowded area frequented by hundreds of lawyers, litigants, and court staff.
Witnesses described hearing a massive blast, followed by scenes of chaos with people running in panic, damaged vehicles on fire, and casualties lying near a police van which the attacker successfully targeted. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed that the bomber had waited for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before detonating the device when he was unable to gain entry to the court premises.
The attack, which killed 12 people and injured 27, is part of a deadly resurgence of militancy across Pakistan, which has seen an uptick in violence since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
However, the political response to this particular attack was unusually rapid and diplomatically aggressive. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was one of the first senior officials to explicitly and publicly blame external forces, linking the Islamabad bombing to an earlier assault on a cadet college in Wana, near the Afghan border.
He alleged that the TTP—the primary group responsible for the resurgence of attacks—was acting as a proxy for India and that the network was operating freely from Afghan territory.
This accusation adds layers of dangerous complexity to the already tense relationship between Pakistan and its neighbours. Regarding Afghanistan, Islamabad’s long-standing grievance is that the Afghan Taliban regime provides a safe haven for the TTP leadership, allowing them to launch cross-border attacks with impunity.
The latest accusations from the Defence Minister, who declared the country to be in a “state of war”, signal that the government is prepared to move beyond diplomatic pressure, warning Kabul that “we have no option but to take care of those terrorists who are attacking our country” if they fail to act.
The implication of India is equally fraught. Pakistan has historically accused New Delhi of using militant groups to destabilise the country, an accusation India has always strongly rejected.
This instance is no different, with an Indian government spokesperson rejecting the allegations as a “baseless and unfounded” and a “predictable tactic” by Pakistan to concoct false narratives.
The timing of the Islamabad explosion, coming just a day after a deadly blast in New Delhi near the historic Red Fort, has further complicated the narrative, with commentators in both countries making accusations against the other.
Regardless of the complex web of regional accusations, the immediate security crisis facing Pakistan is profound. The attack on the Islamabad courts marks the first deadly strike on civilians in the capital in almost a decade and is a clear demonstration that the militant threat, which has largely been confined to the border regions, is now being brought to the country’s heartland.
The government’s response—shifting the blame to external powers—suggests a significant geopolitical crisis may be looming, with both the Afghan and Indian borders potentially facing heightened security measures and the threat of further military or diplomatic confrontation.
