Description: The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the car bomb attack in Islamabad which left 12 people dead and 27 people injured. Pakistani Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi stated that the attack has been sponsored by India and also blamed the Afghan government for continuously supporting and harboring militant and terrorist groups operating out of their country. Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif stated that Pakistan was in a state of war against the insurgent groups as the attack represented a wake-up call for the existential threat that terrorist groups pose to the country’s security and stability. The attacks arrive at a sensitive time for the peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan which so far haven’t yielded any concrete results despite the countries officially being in a state of ceasefire.
Impact: Pakistan is facing one of the most severe security crises in its modern-day history with separatist and terrorist groups increasingly escalating attacks and ground operations. The Pakistani Taliban alongside other separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army are expected to further intensify attacks on crucial targets within Pakistan, as well as other regions such as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Kashmir region where tensions between Pakistan and India remain on a high level. The terrorist and separatist groups are exploiting the vulnerable state of Pakistan’s security, defense and intelligence apparatus since the country is fighting a multi – vectored war in several parts of its western and northeastern border line. The security crisis is expected to further deteriorate which could potentially collapse the peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan and severely escalate the existing tensions between India and Pakistan.