By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber struck outside a courthouse in the Pakistani capital on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 27 others in an attack that heightened tensions in a region already strained by cross-border terrorism and failed peace talks.
The blast occurred at around noon outside the district and sessions court building in Islamabad’s G-11 area, as the city hosted international gatherings including the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference and the 6th Margalla Dialogue. A cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was also underway in nearby Rawalpindi.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, briefing reporters outside the court, described the incident as a “suicide blast” and confirmed the casualty figures. “The attacker stood outside the court for around 12 minutes. He first attempted to go inside the court, but then targeted the police vehicle after he was unable to do so,” Naqvi said. The wounded were receiving medical treatment, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in direct contact with the hospitals involved.
Naqvi said an investigation was underway, with identifying the attacker as a top priority. “I assure you we will identify him in the next few hours,” he added. “At this time, we are linking this blast today with a lot of things and, in the coming hours or day, we will be very clear about it… We are not taking this blast as a normal blast because today’s blast is taking place in Islamabad, on this occasion, at this time, and it conveys a lot of messages.” “I don’t want to say anything about how Indians do…. like they know where and what happened half an hour before the blast even occurs,” Naqvi said.
The minister assured the public that those responsible would face justice, and that the army, Rangers and police would maintain security for the ongoing international events.
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Mubahshir Daha, confirmed that “12 people have been martyred in the blast,” while the number of injured had risen to 30. “Following the attack, an emergency has been declared at PIMS, and medical assistance to the injured is underway,” the spokesperson said. “All resources are being utilised to assist the injured.” “We are already treating the injured, our teams are in the hospitals already. We are providing them the best possible facilities.”
A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the bombing to the “Indian-sponsored and Afghan Taliban–backed proxy group ‘Fitna-ul-Khawarij,’” referring to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Pakistan accuses of operating from Afghan safe havens with Indian support.
Videos circulating on social media showed flames and thick smoke rising from a charred vehicle behind a security barrier.
Lawyer Mohammed Shahzad Butt, who witnessed the explosion, told AFP it was a “massive blast.” “Everyone started running inside out of panic. I have seen at least five dead bodies lying at the front gate.” Another lawyer, Rustam Malik, told the news agency he “heard a loud bang at the gate” as he entered the complex. “It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate, and several cars were on fire.”
Security around the Judicial Complex, nearby courts and other sensitive sites in Islamabad was tightened further, police officials told the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. The attack drew widespread condemnation from Pakistani leaders. President Asif Ali Zardari, in a post on X, expressed condolences to the bereaved families, prayed for the injured and paid tribute to law enforcement agencies.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called the incident a “wake-up call.” “We are in a state of war. Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan, today’s suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts is a wake-up call,” Asif said. “In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul.”
Britain’s high commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott, urged British citizens to monitor travel advice. “We are aware of an explosion in Islamabad which has reportedly left several people dead,” she wrote on X. “We are closely tracking, and British nationals should monitor travel advice. My thoughts are with the loved ones of those who have lost their lives.”
The bombing followed a day after militants, including a suicide bomber, attempted to storm a cadet college in Wana, in South Waziristan, leading to a gunbattle that killed at least two attackers. On Monday, Pakistani forces reported killing 20 TTP insurgents in raids on hideouts in the northwest near Afghanistan. The army said eight were killed Sunday in North Waziristan, a former TTP stronghold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and 12 in a separate raid in Dara Adam Khel, also in the northwest.
The attack also came amid mutual blame between Pakistan and Afghanistan for the collapse of a third round of peace talks in Istanbul over the weekend. The negotiations, facilitated by Qatar and Turkey, began last month after border clashes that killed dozens on both sides. The TTP, separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, has grown bolder since the Afghan Taliban regained power in 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have found refuge in Afghanistan.
The Islamabad blast occurred a day after a car explosion in New Delhi killed at least eight and injured 20. Indian police are investigating it under anti-terrorism laws. India and Pakistan, nuclear-armed rivals, often accuse each other of backing militant groups. A militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, which killed 22 people mostly tourists, led to a four-day confrontation in May involving artillery, drone and air strikes before a US-brokered ceasefire.
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