A suicide bomber has set off a blast outside a court building in Islamabad that has killed at least 12 people, according to Pakistan’s interior minister.
At least 27 others were injured in the explosion on Tuesday near the entrance of the district court in the Pakistani capital, which is typically crowded with large numbers of people.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters a “suicide bomber” detonated explosives near a police vehicle outside the gates of the court.
The attacker tried to “enter the court premises but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle”, he said.
As officials investigated the scene in the immediate aftermath, no group had claimed responsibility. However, similar blasts have been carried out by armed groups, including the Pakistan Taliban, also known by the acronym TTP.
“We will be able to provide more details after we get a report from our forensic team,” a police spokesperson said.
According to media reports, the casualties were mostly passers-by or those who had arrived for court appointments.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the “suicide blast” and “expressed deep condolences with the bereaved families, prayed for early recovery of the injured and paid tribute to law enforcement agencies”.
‘State of war’
The deadly attack threatens to provoke a return of hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The two countries are locked in difficult talks after a spate of cross-border attacks last month that killed dozens of people.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the country is “in a state of war” and the attack should be taken as a “wake-up call”.
“In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul,” he said on X.
“The rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan, but bringing this war all the way to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which, praise be to God, Pakistan has the full strength to respond.”
Pakistan accuses the Taliban government in Afghanistan of harbouring “terrorists”, including those from the TTP, and last month carried out air strikes inside Afghanistan.
The Taliban launched its own cross-border attacks in retaliation. The fighting killed 50 civilians and wounded 447 on the Afghan side of the border; 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 29 wounded.
Last week, the Taliban blamed Pakistan for a lack of results after talks mediated by Qatar and Turkiye but said a ceasefire would hold.
The ruling Afghan group did not immediately react to the latest comments from Pakistan.
The blast in Islamabad came hours after Pakistani security forces said they thwarted an overnight attack by fighters who tried to storm a cadet college in Wana in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the border with Afghanistan.
Authorities said the attack involved a suicide car bomber and five other fighters in an area that until recently used to be a base for the Pakistan Taliban, al-Qaeda and other armed groups.
The Islamabad attack comes a day after a powerful explosion rocked neighbouring India’s capital, New Delhi.
Indian police have invoked “counterterrorism” laws as they investigate the blast, which involved a vehicle near the Red Fort landmark and killed 13 people.
