A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 27 others, Pakistan’s interior minister confirmed, marking the latest escalation in a growing wave of militant violence across the country.
The explosion erupted just after midday outside the main gates of the court complex, near a parked police vehicle, sending debris flying through the air as crowds fled in panic. The blast, which was heard miles away, struck during one of the court’s busiest hours, when hundreds of lawyers, visitors, and plaintiffs were arriving for hearings.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the attacker tried to enter the courthouse but detonated his vest when stopped at a police checkpoint. “The attacker attempted to enter the court premises but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle,” Naqvi told reporters. He described the assault as an “act of terror carried out by Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies,” though he added that officials were still investigating all possible leads.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion quickly centered on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has stepped up attacks since the Afghan Taliban’s rise to power in Kabul in 2021.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes following the explosion. “People started running in all directions,” said Mohammad Afzal, who was near the entrance when the bomb went off. Ambulances and rescue teams rushed to the site as bystanders attempted to pull the wounded from smoldering wreckage. Most of the victims were passersby or individuals attending court proceedings.
Earlier reports had suggested a car bomb caused the explosion, but authorities later confirmed that a suicide bomber was responsible. Islamabad police said they were conducting a full investigation but had not yet released details on the bomber’s identity.
Overnight Attack Foiled at Military College
The court bombing came less than a day after Pakistani forces thwarted an attempted hostage attack at an army-run cadet college in the northwestern city of Wana, near the Afghan border. Security officials said six militants, including a suicide car bomber, targeted the facility late Monday, aiming to seize cadets inside.
Police chief Alamgir Mahsud said troops quickly killed two attackers before three others breached the compound and were cornered in an administrative block, sparking a prolonged gun battle that continued into Tuesday. The college, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, had once been a base for the TTP, al-Qaida, and other foreign fighters.
The Pakistani Taliban denied involvement in the attempted siege, though officials maintain the group remains the primary threat.
Prime Minister Condemns Attacks, Promises Accountability
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced both attacks, calling them “heinous acts of terror” and vowing swift justice. “We will ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and held accountable,” Sharif said in a statement from Islamabad, pledging that the “blood of innocent Pakistanis will not go to waste.”
Sharif has faced mounting pressure to restore stability as Pakistan endures a sharp rise in militant assaults targeting security forces, government offices, and civilians. The resurgence has drawn parallels to the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, when Taliban gunmen killed 154 people, mostly children, in one of the country’s deadliest terrorist attacks.
Strained Ties and Stalled Peace Talks
The Islamabad bombing underscores the growing strain in Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan. Tensions between the two neighbors have deepened following deadly cross-border skirmishes and Pakistani drone strikes in Kabul earlier this month that killed several people.
Despite Qatar-brokered ceasefires, violence has persisted. Two rounds of peace talks between Pakistani and Afghan officials in Istanbul have failed to produce an agreement, as Kabul has refused to give written assurances that its territory will not be used by the TTP or allied groups to stage attacks on Pakistan.
The fragile truce remains in limbo, leaving Pakistan’s security forces stretched thin as they battle multiple insurgent threats within and along its volatile northwestern frontier.
