At least twelve people were killed while 27 people were injured on Tuesday in a suicide blast outside the district and sessions court building in Islamabad’s G-11 area, according to officials.
The death toll was initially confirmed to Dawn by a senior Islamabad police official. Later, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi briefed the media outside the court, saying that a “suicide blast” had occurred at 12:39pm.
Confirming the death and injury toll, the interior minister said that the wounded were being provided medical treatment, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally talking to the hospitals in question.
“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.
He added that an investigation was underway and identifying the attacker was a top priority. “I assure you we will identify him in the next few hours,” he said.
“We are investigating this incident from different angles. It is not just another bombing. It happened right in Islamabad,” the minister said. Naqvi also said that things would become clearer in the coming days, adding that those involved would not be spared.
Videos of the incident on social media showed flames and plumes of smoke rising into the air from the remains of a charred vehicle behind a security barrier.
“As I parked my car and entered the complex … I heard a loud bang on the gate,” lawyer Rustam Malik told AFP after the blast, which sent people fleeing and damaged vehicles in the area.
“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,” said Malik, one of the witnesses who spoke to AFP.
‘Wake-up call’
In a post on X, President Asif Ali Zardari expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, prayed for the recovery of the injured, and paid tribute to law enforcement agencies.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also 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,” he said.
“In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul,” he added.
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar also condemned the incident in Islamabad and expressed grief over the loss of precious human lives.
“Suicide bombers and terrorists have no religion. They enemies of humanity,” he said, adding that Sindh police had been put on high alert until further orders.
“Checking and surveillance should be tightened at the province’s entry and exit points, important highways, roads and side roads, while intelligence measures should be made more effective and coordinated, especially in crime-affected areas and suburbs,” he said.
