A powerful suicide car bomb explosion outside a district court in Islamabad on Tuesday killed at least 12 people and injured 27 others, marking one of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan’s capital in recent years. The blast occurred around midday outside the gates of the district court complex, shattering windows and leaving a trail of mangled vehicles and debris.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as police and ambulances rushed to rescue the injured. “People started running in all directions,” said Mohammad Afzal, who was at the court when the explosion occurred. The explosion, heard miles away, came during one of the court’s busiest hours when hundreds of visitors were attending hearings.
According to Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the bomber “attempted to enter the court premises but, failing to do so, detonated near a police vehicle.” He alleged that the attack was “carried out by Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies” affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). However, the TTP has not claimed responsibility.
Authorities said the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act equivalent sections have been invoked, and investigations are underway. Naqvi added that forensic teams were collecting evidence to determine the type of explosives used.
The majority of casualties were civilians who were either passersby or visiting the court. Local hospitals reported that several victims remain in critical condition.
Meanwhile, an overnight attack on an army-run cadet college in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was also foiled. Militants, including a suicide bomber, attempted to take cadets hostage, but security forces neutralized all six attackers after a prolonged gunfight.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned both attacks, calling them “reprehensible acts of terror.” He vowed that those responsible “will be apprehended and held accountable swiftly.”
The attacks come amid renewed tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following drone strikes in Kabul last month and stalling peace talks in Istanbul. The Pakistani Taliban, emboldened since the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan in 2021, have carried out a series of deadly attacks across Pakistan in recent months.
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