At least twelve people have been killed and twenty-seven others injured after a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a district court in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, officials said on Tuesday. The attack marks one of the deadliest assaults in the city in recent years.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed that the bomber had attempted to enter the courthouse complex but was prevented from doing so. “The attacker was unable to get inside the court premises,” Naqvi said, adding that the individual detonated the bomb near a police vehicle after waiting for nearly 15 minutes.
Naqvi said an immediate investigation had been launched to identify the attacker and any accomplices involved. “We will prioritise tracing those responsible and ensuring that they face justice,” he vowed.
According to the Ministry of Interior, emergency services swiftly arrived at the scene, where rescue workers and police cordoned off the area. Footage from the site showed smouldering wreckage, a burnt-out car, and plumes of black smoke billowing into the air behind a security barrier.
The explosion occurred at around 12:39 local time (07:39 GMT), near one of the main gates of the district court complex. Victims were rushed to nearby hospitals, where several remain in critical condition.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari issued a statement strongly condemning the attack, expressing grief over the loss of lives and calling it a “cowardly act targeting innocent citizens.”
Eyewitness accounts painted a scene of confusion and panic in the moments following the explosion. Rustam Malik, a lawyer who was parking his car outside the courthouse when the blast occurred, described hearing a “deafening bang.”
“It was complete chaos,” Malik told AFP. “Lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two bodies lying at the gate, and several vehicles were engulfed in flames.”
Authorities believe the attack specifically targeted law enforcement officials positioned near the courthouse. Police have since heightened security in and around Islamabad, erecting additional checkpoints across the city.
Shortly after the incident, Jumaat Ul Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), claimed responsibility for the bombing. However, two local journalists told the BBC that messages from the TTP’s central leadership denied any involvement in the explosion.
Suicide bombings have become uncommon in the Pakistani capital in recent years. The last major attack took place three years ago, when a police officer was killed and several others wounded in a similar incident. However, other regions of the country — particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — continue to face sporadic militant violence.
Prior to the Jumaat Ul Ahrar claim, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alleged that extremist groups “actively supported by India” were behind the latest assault.
“Terrorist attacks on unarmed citizens of Pakistan by India’s terrorist proxies are condemnable,” Sharif said in a statement.
The Indian government has yet to issue a response to these accusations, although it has consistently denied similar claims in the past.
In what some analysts see as a grim coincidence, a separate explosion occurred a day earlier in India’s capital, Delhi, when a car blast killed eight people and injured several others.
While Indian authorities have not yet labelled that incident a terror attack, the case has been handed over to the country’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the Delhi explosion, vowing justice for the victims. “The conspirators behind this heinous act will not be spared,” Modi said. “All those responsible will be brought to justice, no matter how deep the conspiracy runs.”
Authorities in both Islamabad and Delhi are investigating the blasts separately, but regional observers have noted the tense timing of both incidents.
For many residents in Islamabad, Tuesday’s explosion revived painful memories of the capital’s violent past. From 2007 to 2014, the city suffered a wave of militant attacks that claimed hundreds of lives, before a sweeping military operation pushed most extremist groups into remote border regions.
While security in the capital has improved in recent years, the attack has prompted renewed fears about the potential resurgence of militant activity in Pakistan’s urban centres.
“The fact that this happened in the heart of Islamabad is deeply concerning,” a senior police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It suggests that sleeper cells may still be active and capable of striking when least expected.”
As investigations continue, authorities have urged the public to remain calm and cooperate with security personnel. The names of the victims are expected to be released following notification of their families.
Hospitals across Islamabad have been placed on high alert, with emergency staff working around the clock to treat the injured. Several of the victims, officials said, are in critical condition.
The Islamabad police have appealed for information from anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity near the court prior to the explosion.
For now, the city remains tense, its streets patrolled by additional security forces — a stark reminder that even after years of relative peace, the spectre of violence can still return without warning.
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