It was a bloody week on the subcontinent.
On Monday,a blast less than 8 kilometres from India’s parliament sent shock waves through Delhi.
Just hours later, a suicide bomber detonated a car outside an Islamabad court, while militants laid siege to a military run school in Wana along Pakistan‘s border with Afghanistan.
In just 48 hours,almost 30 people were killed and dozens more injured in the deadliest terrorist assaults on the capitals of both India and Pakistan in more than a decade.
The suicide bomb attack outside an Islamabad court killed 12 people. (Reuters: Waseem Khan)
While these attacks were similar in some ways, the response from the two countries could not have been more different.
Within hours of the Islamabad bombing, the Pakistani government held neighbouring afghanistan and India culpable, accusing them of supporting or providing safe haven to militants wreaking havoc on its territory, an accusation rejected by both countries.
But in Delhi, the response has been astonishingly muted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waited 48 hours before confirming that the blast was a “terror incident”, and even then, alluded only to mysterious “anti-national forces” as the culprits.
A different strategy
It was a dramatic departure from the government’s response just seven months ago to the Pahalgam massacre, when militants killed 26 Indian tourists in a brazen daytime assault in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Within days, India had pointed the finger at Pakistan and launched air strikes on military targets deep inside the country, despite denials by Islamabad.
Delhi Explosion Sparks Terrorism Investigation
Investigators are working to determine the events surrounding an explosion in a crowded area of India’s capital,wich has resulted in at least eight fatalities.
The National Investigation Agency, responsible for investigating terrorism-related incidents, is currently examining potential connections between the explosion in the old city and a group of individuals recently arrested.
According to analyst Subir Chaudhuri, highlighting the incident could be detrimental. “It does make us look worse to play this up,” he stated to the ABC.
“The Modi government has emphasized its strong security record as taking office. Previously, Mumbai experienced attacks at its core, and Delhi was frequently targeted by terror. This is the first major terror attack in a major city, and specifically the capital, since 2013.”
“This is the first time as 2013 that you’ve had a major terror attack in a big city and in the capital.”
“Thus, there’s little incentive to publicize this event,” Chaudhuri added. “It doesn’t benefit them.”
A key difference from the Pahalgam case is that those arrested in connection with the arms and explosives find are Indian citizens. Authorities suggest the involvement of foreign handlers, specifically from Pakistan.