After Deadly Suicide Bombing, Pakistan Blames India

Pakistan is blaming India-backed terrorist groups for a deadly suicide bombing that killed 12 people and injured dozens more outside a courthouse in Islamabad on Tuesday, just a day after a car explosion in India was investigated as suspected terrorism. Though India has not accused Pakistan of involvement in the car blast near a metro station by the historic Red Fort—which killed at least 12, per Al Jazeera—the back-to-back incidents come against a backdrop of long-standing mutual suspicion. India has frequently accused Pakistan of supporting militants and providing safe haven for groups targeting Indian interests, per the Wall Street Journal.

The Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP) claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack in Islamabad, per the Guardian. However, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described an attack by "Indian proxy terrorist groups," per the Journal. India has not yet responded to the allegations. Speaking from Bhutan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to bring those behind the Delhi explosion to justice, telling the public, "The conspirators behind this will not be spared." If the New Delhi blast is confirmed as an attack, it would mark the city's deadliest such incident since 2011, when a bomb killed 15 people outside a courthouse.