Deadly Suicide Attack Rocks Islamabad as Pakistani Taliban Claim Responsibility
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad on Tuesday, marking a rare attack on the country’s capital. The explosion, which occurred near district court buildings, sent people fleeing in panic and left shattered glass and charred vehicles in its wake.
“Judges, lawyers, and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,” the group, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), stated, threatening more attacks until Islamic law is implemented in the Muslim-majority country.
Moreover, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed that 12 people were killed and 27 wounded when the assailant detonated explosives near a police vehicle. A lawyer at the scene, Mohammed Shahzad Butt, described a “massive blast” and reported seeing at least five dead bodies lying at the front gate.
However, an AFP journalist observed paramilitary troops cordoning off the attack site, which is near several government offices. Another lawyer, Rustam Malik, recounted hearing a loud bang at the gate as he entered the complex. “It was complete chaos, with lawyers and people running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars on fire,” Malik said.
Ongoing Conflict
This bombing follows a car explosion in the Indian capital, Delhi, on Monday, which killed at least eight people. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has previously accused the TTP and separatists from the country’s Balochistan region of carrying out attacks, primarily on security forces.
Militant groups have largely avoided targeting Islamabad in recent years, and the city last faced a suicide attack in December 2022. However, the country is facing a resurgence of attacks, which officials attribute mainly to armed groups allegedly sheltered on Afghan soil.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security forces were battling militants who had holed up in a school in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Wana district, near the Afghan border. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi revealed that there was an attack in Wana as well, resulting in three deaths, adding that the attacker involved in that incident was an Afghan national, implying direct involvement by Afghanistan.
Regional Tensions
Recent attacks have escalated tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In October, a bloody clash between the two countries resulted in over 70 deaths, including about 50 Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations. Although both sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire, negotiations collapsed last week, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the Islamabad suicide attack as “a wake-up call,” adding that, given the current environment, successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul seem unlikely.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups that launch attacks across the long, porous border, an accusation the Afghan government denies.
