Bombs echoed across the Indian subcontinent this week as twin blasts unfolded in the capital cities of both India and Pakistan, leaving more than two dozen dead and more than 40 wounded.
The blast in India unfolded Monday evening in the nation’s capital of New Delhi, located in the northern half of the nation, in an intersection between the city’s iconic Lal Qila (Red Fort) and Chandni Chowk bazaar. At 6:52 p.m. local time, a Hyundai i20 rolled to a stop at a red light and promptly exploded, wounding over 20 individuals and killing at least 13.
The second blast occurred on Tuesday in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, which sits almost adjacent to the Kashmir region of India, just outside a district court. At a time “when the area outside the district court in Islamabad is typically crowded with hundreds of visitors,” according to AP News, a suicide bomber – who supposedly tried and failed to enter the court – targeted a nearby police car, killing 12 (excluding the bomber) and injuring 27.
2 countries. 24 hours. 26 dead.
In India, the bombing is so far believed to be the work of extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM). Outlawed by Pakistan in 2002 and having declared war against the U.S., JEM aims “to unite Kashmir with Pakistan and to expel foreign troops from Afghanistan,” according to the National Counterterrorism Center.
According to The Economic Times, as pro-JEM posters bearing threats for “renewed attacks on security forces” began appearing more prominently in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, police began investigating the extremist group and soon discovered a wider conspiracy that stretched into Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (both states in India) under the guise of “legitimate academic and charitable institutions.” Among the accused conspirators “were several doctors working at Al-Falah University in Faridabad” who allegedly moved chemicals, weapons, and funds by leveraging “their professional status”.
As investigations continued, police in Haryana were able to raid a property in Faridabad and recovered about 360 kilograms of ammonium nitration in addition to timers, detonators, and an assault rifle. Additional raids brought the amount of explosive material stashed around Faridabad to 2900 kilograms, enough – according to The Economic Times – to conduct “potentially multiple high-intensity blasts”. Both JEM and another group, Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, were linked to the network.
With further police work, several of the doctors in the network were arrested, but one – Dr. Mohammad Umar – escaped and later became the driver of the car that exploded in Delhi.
In Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), a militant group affiliated with Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), took responsibility for the attack, according to CNN, despite the TTP allegedly “distanc[ing] itself from the attack.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif claimed the attack was conducted by “Indian terrorist proxies,” according to CNN, and blamed recent militant attacks in Pakistan as “being carried out from Afghan soil and backed by India.”
Terroristic activity in and of itself is dangerous, but twin attacks like these on countries that already have great animosity for each other? Especially dangerous with near infinite potential to turn evolve into something much, much worse.
The important thing to remember in times like these is who the real bad guy is: the terrorists. Pointing fingers, making false or baseless accusations, promoting hate speech… all of these are just ways for us to tear ourselves apart and keep us from addressing the real issues and root cause for all this hatred and violence.
Only by working together can we accomplish and create something that not only lasts, but is also effective and efficient in doing what it’s meant to do.
