Pak finger pointing at India after Lahore blast is diversion from internal chaos

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<strong>Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan took to twitter to blame India and its intelligence services for the Lahore blast on June 23 near the residence of the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) supremo Hafiz Saeed.</strong></p>
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“This coordination led to identifying the terrorists & their international linkages. Again, planning & financing of this heinous terror attack has links to Indian sponsorship of terrorism against Pak.  Global community must mobilise int institutions against this rogue behaviour,” Imran Khan tweeted.</p>
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This coordination led to identifying the terrorists & their international linkages. Again, planning & financing of this heinous terror attack has links to Indian sponsorship of terrorism against Pak. Global community must mobilise int institutions against this rogue behaviour</p>
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1411679482314821632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2021</a></blockquote>
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On Sunday, Imran’s National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf, information minister Fawad Chaudhary along with the Inspector General of Police of Punjab also went ballistic against India during a hurriedly called press conference. The alleged that the mastermind of the attack which killed three people and left 24 others injured <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1633170/mastermind-of-johar-town-blast-is-an-indian-citizen-associated-with-raw-nsa-moeed-yusuf">"is an Indian citizen and he is associated with [Indian intelligence</a> agency] RAW," reported by the Pakistani daily Dawn.</p>
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Sharing details of the investigations to the Pakistani media, Imran Khan’s National Security Advisor, Yusuf said Pakistan had identified the main mastermind and the handlers through "forensic analysis, electronic equipment which has been recovered from these terrorists."</p>
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"We have identified the main mastermind and the handlers of this terrorist attack and we have absolutely no doubt or reservation in informing you that the main mastermind belongs to RAW, the Indian intelligence agency, is an Indian national and is based in India," the Pak NSA added.  He stressed that Pakistan had been repeatedly saying that India was involved in terrorism against Pakistan.</p>
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<strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/opinion-news/india-unlikely-to-be-provoked-by-jammu-drone-strike-from-pakistan-99000.html">India unlikely to be provoked by Jammu drone strike from Pakistan</a></strong></p>
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In the Pakistani plot, there is a prominent Afghan angle as well, obviously to build the false narrative that New Delhi and Kabul are working together against Islamabad. Unsurprisingly, the Pakistanis allege that a person of Afghan origin, Eid Gul, is the main accused who executed this attack. He got the car used in the blast from a foreigner David Paul (who was arrested on June 24 from the airport).</p>
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Obviously not a student of logic, Pakistani Information minister Fawad Chaudhary asserted that both the individuals were on the payroll of Indian agency, Hence, “that proved that the Indian establishment and present government were fully supporting" the terrorist network in Pakistan”.</p>
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Pakistani garrulous foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has also pitched in with a statement that the blast was the handiwork of the Indian agency to keep Pakistan in the “Grey” list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has been given a “dossier” of Indian state-sponsorship of terrorism inside Pakistan. It has also been shared with the international community.</p>
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<strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/why-is-imran-khan-kowtowing-to-china-on-uyghur-rights-violations-in-xinjiang-99993.html">Why is Imran Khan kowtowing to China on Uyghur rights violations in Xinjiang?</a></strong></p>
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NSA Yusuf went even further by saying that the “India "drama" of drone attack in Jammu and Kashmir was an attempt to divert attention from the Lahore attack”.</p>
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In India, people following Pakistan in fine print point out that Islamabad’s saturation fire targeting India after the Lahore incident is not surprising–it is yet another rhetorical attempt to divert attention from the internal decay that is eating into the country’s vitals. “The Pakistanis are desperate to somehow change its image of a terror sponsoring failed state, whose economy is in free fall. India as always is the default scapegoat,” an insider told India Narrative.</p>
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The person, who did not wish to be named, pointed out that Pakistan is also feeling the heat as its support to the terror-tainted Taliban is also under the global scanner, and its relationship with the US under the Biden administration is experiencing high fluidity. “Islamabad’s special ties with China are also being keenly watched in Washington, especially after PM Khan went out of his way to praise Beijing during a press conference with Chinese media on July 1,” the person said.</p>
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The insider stressed that if there is any suspicion of an Indian involvement in the blast “the best thing is to share information with India so that incident can be jointly investigated threadbare. But Pakistan would avoid that lest its falsehood is exposed.”</p>