India denies role in Islamabad imambargah bombing, says Indian foreign ministry

India said it rejected “any and every” allegation of involvement in a bombing at a mosque in Islamabad on Friday, that killed at least 32 people, saying such claims were baseless and pointless.

The explosion went off just as worshippers were offering Friday prayers at Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra on the outskirts of Islamabad. The blast was so powerful that it was heard within a radius of hundreds of metres, whipping up fear and panic among residents.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the allegations in a post on X: “The bombing at an Islamabad mosque earlier today is condemnable and India condoles the loss of life it has caused. 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.”

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry visited Federal Government Polyclinic and said that it was a “very tragic incident and an extremely cowardly act” by the terrorists to attack in this manner.

“They are the enemies of Islam, the enemies of Pakistan. We will end terrorism from our country, we will continue this fight till every one of these people are brought to justice. We want peace in the region but our neighbors, especially India, has been very active in terror activities in Pakistan. They are involved in the recent attacks in Balochistan, FATA and now in Islamabad,” he said while talking to the media.

The minister said hospitals were instructed to administer proper care to the injured. “We are trying to provide all the services we can to the injured and stand with the families of the fallen,” he added.

Similarly, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif blamed Afghanistan and India for the incident. Taking to X, he said, “Those who martyr worshippers in the mosque are enemies of both religion and the homeland. The terrorist involved in the attack has been proven to have been coming and going from Afghanistan. The threads of the alliance between India and the Taliban are being uncovered. The security guards challenged him, in response to which he opened fire and blew himself up in the last row of worshippers with an explosion. The state will respond to this oppression with full force. After a humiliating defeat, India is now fighting through its proxies. Alhamdulillah, it no longer has the courage for direct war.”

The Islamabad blast comes in the wake of a spate of recent attacks across Pakistan, including multiple deadly incidents in Balochistan targeting security forces and civilians.

The Inter-Services Public Relations said a day ago that security forces had successfully concluded “Operation Raddul-Fitna-1” in Balochistan, killing 216 terrorists in a series of coordinated, intelligence-based operations (IBOs) targeting what the military described as Indian-sponsored terrorist elements,

In November, an attack on the District Judicial Complex in G-11 area of Islamabad killed at least 12 people and injured more than 36 others. In that attack, a suicide attacker attempted to enter court premises but detonated explosives near a police vehicle after being intercepted, causing widespread panic and damage to vehicles nearby.

The attack also comes amid the visit of the Uzbek president to Pakistan for a two-day stay. Earlier this week, the Kazakh president also visited the country.