Pakistan’s president warned the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has created conditions similar to or worse than the period before the Sept. 11 attacks. Asif Ali Zardari’s stark assessment followed a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed 31 worshippers and wounded 169. He also accused India of assisting the Taliban and threatening regional peace.

Zardari’s comments reflect Islamabad’s long-held contention that the Taliban, since retaking power in 2021, have allowed militant networks to flourish. Pakistan frequently blames the Afghan Taliban for backing the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, though both deny this. The previous Taliban government had sheltered al-Qaida before the 2001 U.S. invasion.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the mosque bomber was a Pakistani trained by the IS group in Afghanistan, with an Afghan national among four arrested suspects. International officials from Italy and the European Union condemned the attack, while Pakistan asserts it stands as a global shield against terrorism. The rhetoric underscores deepening regional fractures and security fears.

Quick Fact: The suicide bombing killed 31 worshippers and wounded 169.