On a bustling Tuesday morning in Islamabad, the ordinary hum of court proceedings was shattered by a devastating suicide attack that has left Pakistan reeling. At least 12 people lost their lives and 27 others were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the gates of the city’s district court, according to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (Reuters, Dawn, South China Morning Post). The explosion, which was heard up to six kilometers away, struck at a time when the area was crowded with hundreds of visitors and litigants attending hearings, plunging the capital into chaos and fear.
Eyewitnesses described a scene of mayhem in the immediate aftermath. "As I parked my car and entered the complex … I heard a loud bang on the gate," lawyer Rustam Malik told AFP, as quoted by Dawn. "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." Images and videos circulating in local media showed bloodied bodies next to a police van, with shattered glass and charred vehicles scattered across the road outside the court buildings (Reuters, AFP).
The attacker, officials say, tried to enter the court premises on foot but was stopped at the gates. After waiting for 10 to 15 minutes near a police vehicle, he detonated his explosives, targeting the police car and the crowd nearby (Reuters, South China Morning Post). The powerful blast not only killed and wounded dozens but also damaged several vehicles parked outside the court, typically busy with hundreds of visitors (South China Morning Post, Dawn).
Responsibility for the attack was quickly claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), according to multiple reports (South China Morning Post, Reuters, AFP). The TTP, while separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban, has long been a source of instability in Pakistan, and this attack marks a chilling escalation, especially given that Islamabad has largely been spared major militant violence in recent years. The last suicide attack in the capital occurred in December 2022 (AFP).
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi did not mince words about the gravity of the situation. “We are investigating this incident from different angles. It is not just another bombing. It happened right in Islamabad,” he told reporters at the scene (Reuters). Naqvi alleged that the attack was “carried out by Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies” linked to the Pakistani Taliban, though he also emphasized that authorities were “looking into all aspects” of the explosion (South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went further, describing the attacks in Islamabad and at a cadet college in Wana as “the worst examples of India state terrorism in the region,” and called for the world to condemn such conspiracies, though he did not provide evidence for these claims (Al Jazeera).
Condemnation was swift across Pakistan’s leadership. President Asif Ali Zardari expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families, prayed for the swift recovery of the injured, and paid tribute to law enforcement agencies (Dawn). Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called the incident a "wake-up call," warning, “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” (Dawn, Al Jazeera). He added, “In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul.”
The attack comes at a time of heightened tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In October, cross-border violence erupted after drone strikes killed several people in Kabul, leading to retaliatory attacks and dozens of casualties on both sides (Al Jazeera). A ceasefire brokered by Qatar on October 19 remains fragile, with peace talks in Istanbul recently ending without resolution as Afghanistan’s Taliban refused to provide written assurances that the TTP and other groups would not use Afghan territory to attack Pakistan (AFP, Al Jazeera).
The Islamabad bombing was not the only security incident that day. Just hours earlier, Pakistani security forces thwarted a dramatic assault by militants on an army-run cadet college in Wana, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the Afghan border (AFP, Al Jazeera). The attack, involving a suicide car bomber and five fighters, was repelled by troops, with two militants killed quickly and three more cornered inside an administrative block. The Pakistani Taliban denied involvement in the college attack (AFP, Al Jazeera).
For many Pakistanis, the return of such violence to the heart of the capital is a grim reminder of the country’s ongoing struggle with militancy. The blast also followed a deadly explosion in neighboring India’s capital, New Delhi, just a day earlier, which killed 13 people and has been labeled a terrorist act by Indian authorities (Al Jazeera). The proximity and timing of the attacks have fueled speculation and blame between regional powers, further complicating already tense diplomatic relations.
As investigators comb through the scene, police have declined to confirm early media speculation that a gas cylinder inside a vehicle was the cause, maintaining that the evidence points to a suicide bombing (Dawn). Forensic teams are working to piece together the exact sequence of events, while security has been ramped up across Islamabad and other major cities.
For now, the focus remains on providing care to the wounded—some of whom are in critical condition (Reuters)—and on pursuing those responsible. Prime Minister Sharif has vowed, "We will ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and held accountable." He further declared, "We will not allow the blood of innocent Pakistanis to go to waste" (AFP).
The Islamabad court blast has sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s legal and political communities, exposing the vulnerabilities of even the most secure areas and reigniting fears of a broader return to violence. As the country grapples with the aftermath, the attack stands as a stark warning that the fight against extremism is far from over, and that the fragile peace along its borders remains under constant threat.
