Shillong, September 1: Pakistan has pointed fingers at India’s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), accusing the intelligence agency of being involved in two suicide blasts that claimed 65 lives.
The first explosion occurred near a mosque in Balochistan’s Mastung district as a suicide bomber targeted a police vehicle during a gathering for a procession marking the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.
Hours later, a second explosion rocked a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu city, resulting in at least five fatalities.
As per India Today, Sarfaraz Bugti, Pakistan’s Interior Minister in Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, made the claim of RAW’s involvement in the Mastung suicide attack, stating, “Civil, military, and all other institutions will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing. RAW is involved in the suicide attack.”
Authorities have initiated an investigation, collecting DNA samples from the suicide bomber for analysis.
The initial suicide blast in Balochistan claimed the lives of 60 people and left over 60 others injured. In the subsequent attack in Hangu, targeting a police station’s mosque, five individuals lost their lives, and 12 sustained injuries due to the collapse of the mosque’s roof.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) stated that an FIR with murder charges and terrorism offenses has been filed against an unidentified attacker. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far, although the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known for past attacks in Pakistan, denied involvement.
The CTD continues its investigation, and no arrests have been made at this stage. Meanwhile, the caretaker government of Balochistan has declared three days of mourning in response to the tragic attacks.