India hits back over Pakistan’s Islamabad blast blame: ‘Desperate diversionary ploys’

By_shalini oraon

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A Familiar Refrain: India’s Sharp Retort to Pakistan and the Unchanging Script of Blame

In the fraught theatre of Indo-Pakistan relations, certain scripts are recycled with a wearying predictability. The latest act unfolded following a tragic suicide bombing in Islamabad, which left two people dead and several injured. In a move that caught no one by surprise, Pakistani authorities pointed fingers across the border, alleging Indian involvement in the attack. India’s response was swift, sharp, and emblematic of a fundamental shift in its diplomatic posture. Dismissing the accusations as “desperate diversionary ploys,” New Delhi’s retort was more than a mere denial; it was a strategic counter-narrative aimed at exposing what it perceives as the chronic dysfunction and blame-shifting endemic to its neighbour’s political and security establishment.

This exchange, while seemingly another routine diplomatic spat, is a microcosm of the deeper, intractable tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals. It reveals a new, more confident India, a Pakistan grappling with internal demons, and a dangerous international landscape where the label of “terrorism” is a potent weapon in the information war.

The Incident and the Immediate Accusation

The blast in Islamabad, though minor in scale compared to the catastrophic attacks that have plagued Pakistan in the past, sent ripples of anxiety through the capital. The intended target was said to be a senior police officer, a symbol of the state’s authority. In the immediate aftermath, the familiar fog of confusion and suspicion descended. Rather than a period of silent investigation, Pakistani officials, including a senior diplomat, were quick to insinuate the hand of “hostile intelligence agencies”—a thinly veiled reference to India’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW).

For India, this was a familiar, almost ritualistic, accusation. For decades, Pakistan has attributed its internal security failures to external actors, primarily India, often with little to no public evidence. This strategy, from India’s perspective, serves a dual purpose: it externalizes a complex, home-grown problem of extremism, and it seeks to tarnish India’s international reputation by painting it as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Deconstructing India’s Retort: “Desperate Diversionary Ploys”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not mince words. The phrase “desperate diversionary ploys” is a loaded one, carefully chosen to communicate several key messages to both a domestic and international audience.

1. Highlighting Pakistan’s Internal Crisis: The word “desperate” is pointed. It suggests a state in crisis, scrambling to manage multiple, simultaneous existential threats. Pakistan is currently navigating its most severe economic turmoil in decades, with inflation soaring and a political landscape fractured beyond measure following the controversial ouster of Imran Khan. The military establishment, the country’s most powerful institution, faces unprecedented public criticism. By labelling the accusation as “desperate,” India aims to frame it not as a serious allegation, but as the flailing of a state unable to confront its own realities.
2. The “Diversionary” Tactic: This is the core of India’s argument. New Delhi contends that by blaming India, the Pakistani establishment seeks to divert attention from its own failings. The real issues—the resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the safe havens for various jihadist groups within its borders, the deep-seated radicalism within sections of its society—are inconvenient. Pointing a finger at India is a politically easier, albeit cynical, strategy to unite a fractured populace against a common, external enemy and shield the powerful security establishment from accountability.
3. A Ploy to Evade International Scrutiny: India’s statement is also crafted for a global audience, particularly the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Western capitals. For years, India has painstakingly built a case that Pakistan is the epicentre of transnational terrorism. By immediately crying “foreign hand,” Pakistan, in India’s view, is attempting to pre-empt international pressure and scrutiny over its continued inability to dismantle terrorist networks operating from its soil. India’s retort is a reminder to the world: “Do not be fooled by this old trick.”

The Broader Geopolitical Canvas

This diplomatic skirmish cannot be viewed in isolation. It is set against a backdrop of significantly altered regional dynamics.

· India’s Confident Diplomacy: Since the 2019 Pulwama attack and the subsequent Balakot airstrikes, India has shed its defensive, reactive diplomatic posture. It now proactively sets the narrative, using strong, public language to call out Pakistan. This confidence stems from its growing strategic alignment with the West, its role as a counterweight to China, and its economic heft. The old playbook of Pakistani provocation followed by a measured, cautious Indian response is, it seems, obsolete.
· Pakistan’s Precarious Position: Pakistan, meanwhile, finds itself increasingly isolated. Its traditional “all-weather” friendship with China remains, but its relationship with the United States is strained. Its economic dependency on international monetary institutions makes it vulnerable to global opinion. In this context, levelling accusations against India is a low-cost, high-visibility tactic to rally domestic support and signal to its allies that it remains a frontline state against a hostile neighbour.
· The Irony of Roles: There is a profound irony in this exchange. India, which has long been a victim of cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistani soil, is now being accused of being the perpetrator. This role-reversal, however fabricated India claims it to be, complicates the international community’s understanding of the region. It creates a false equivalence, muddying the waters and allowing Pakistan to position itself as a victim rather than a perpetrator.

The Unchanging Reality and the Path Ahead

The tragic blast in Islamabad and the subsequent diplomatic fracas underscore a grim, unchanging reality: the root cause of instability in South Asia remains the infrastructure of terrorism that has been nurtured in Pakistan for decades. As long as certain elements within the Pakistani establishment continue to use jihadist proxies as instruments of foreign policy—first in Afghanistan against the Soviets, then in Kashmir against India—the country will remain vulnerable to the very forces it helped create. The TTP, the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), and myriad other groups are not foreign implants; they are the monstrous offspring of a decades-long strategy that has now turned inward.

India’s sharp retort of “desperate diversionary ploys” is a refusal to engage with this theatre any longer. It is a signal that New Delhi will no longer entertain what it sees as baseless propaganda designed to distract from the core issue. For any meaningful dialogue or normalisation to occur, the onus lies on Pakistan to undertake a sincere, demonstrable, and irreversible crackdown on all terrorist groups on its soil, without distinction.

Until then, the script will remain the same. A tragedy will occur, accusations will fly, and India will hit back, not with evidence to counter each specific claim, but with a broader, more damning indictment of a state that refuses to look inward. The blast in Islamabad was a localized tragedy; the response and the retort that followed are a symptom of a far deeper, more dangerous sickness in the heart of South Asia.