Back-to-back explosions in New Delhi and Islamabad appear unlikely to trigger imminent Indian or Pakistani retaliation against the other, but severe bilateral mistrust and tensions will sustain the risk of renewed cross-border strikes against targets in major cities should either country determine the other culpable for the recent blasts. On Nov. 11, a suicide bombing killed at least 12 people and injured 36 outside the District Judicial Complex in Islamabad, Pakistan. While the Afghanistan-based Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group denied responsibility, a hard-line TTP faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), subsequently claimed the attack and said it targeted "the judges, lawyers, and other staff who enforce Pakistan's un-Islamic laws." Pakistani authorities are still investigating "all aspects" of the bombing, though some top officials have suggested it occurred with Indian support, with Pakistan's prime minister attributing the attack to India-backed militants, and the country's interior minister claiming "Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies" were...
