One word is missing from the headlines 72 hours after the blast near the Red Fort in Delhi that killed at least 13 people; the word is Pakistan.
As usual, the blast has thrown up a zillion source-based stories: How the “white-collar terrorist’ module” was radicalised, how they had made plans, kept diaries, where their “handlers” were – some reports say Turkiye – and how they planned to unleash mayhem in India’s capital, with some reports claiming that the plan was to use as amany as 32 vehicles.
But hardly anyone – neither the investigative agencies, nor ruling party leaders – has yet mentioned India’s nuclear neighbour, usually the first word in headlines after every terrorist attack in India.
Even though the ‘white-collar module’ was apparently busted after posters of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed were put up in Kashmir.
Supriya Shrinate, a member of the Congress Working Committee, belled the cat on Thursday, hitting out at the Narendra Modi government over its silence on naming Pakistan in association with the blast.
“50 hours after the Delhi bomb blasts, the Modi government finally admitted that it was a terrorist attack. But not a word was said about Pakistan. Can there be any terrorist attack in India without Pakistan?” the Congress MP asked on X (formerly Twitter).
“Modi govt had said any act of terror will be seen as an act of war. But the govt’s response so far is in contrast to this vow despite links being quoted to Pakistan-based JeM. Did Mr Modi mess up India’s security game by turning deterrence on its head and has now been trapped by his own rhetoric? Modi’s ignorance and arrogance is proving costly for India
“India deserves answers,” she wrote.
The Centre declared the blast as an ‘act of terror’ and reaffirmed its “zero tolerance” stance towards any form of terrorism on Wednesday, more than 48 hours after the terrorists blew up a car in one of the busiest areas of the national capital, scattering mangled human remains across the area.
But even Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who on Wednesday read out the central cabinet’s resolution that called the Delhi blast a terrorist attack, did not use the word Pakistan. The attack, he said, was carried out by “anti-national forces”.
The Telegraph Online asked Delhi police sources as well as BJP leaders about the word Pakistan being avoided.
The BJP leaders sidestepped the question, saying that it should be put to the Union home ministry – a far cry from not so long ago when slamming India’s neighbour was second nature.
The police sources refused to comment.
Even Shrinate’s party Congress, while demanding accountability from the Modi government over the attack, did not name Pakistan.
“This act of terror draws its sustenance, support and inspiration from external forces,” Congress leader Pawan Khera said at a media conference on Thursday afternoon.
The opposition party also demanded that the Winter Session of Parliament, scheduled to start on December 1, be advanced so that there could be a debate on the terrorist attack.
"The surprising thing is that after 48 hours, it was the Cabinet that announced that this was a terror attack," Khera said.
Despite the intelligence agencies and national security advisor Ajit Doval keeping a close watch, how did 2,900 kg of explosive reach Faridabad, the Opposition leader asked.
"In a car, there was so much explosive near the Red Fort... Who is taking responsibility for this and is accountability being fixed," he underlined.
"We always stood with the government when a terror attack happened and will do so in future. But it is our duty to ask questions as to whose failure it is and who will take responsibility for it.”
The Congress demands that an all-party meeting under the chairmanship of the prime minister be called immediately, he said.
After Pahalgam and following Operation Sindoor, the government had come up with a “new normal” doctrine that any terror attack will be considered an act of war, Khera said, and asked if that still stands.
If the government takes so much time to give a clear picture, it opens room for speculation and theories especially “in newsrooms and media houses,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has blamed India for the blast in Islamabad on Tuesday, even after terror group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for it.
India has rubbished the allegation.