Malakand's deputy inspector general has attributed the attack to Fitna al Khawarij, the outlawed TTP in other words. It requires that facilitators, financiers and sympathisers inside Pakistan face the same institutional resolve as the men who plant the explosives. The Afghan Taliban's continued refusal to act against TTP sanctuaries is not cost-free for Kabul either. A government seeking international legitimacy cannot simultaneously claim sovereignty and disclaim responsibility for what operates from within its borders. India's reopening of its embassy in Kabul and its deepening outreach to the Taliban administration have unfolded in parallel with this conflict.