A powerful explosion near Islamabad’s High Court on Tuesday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured 20 others, according to hospital officials and security sources. Authorities are investigating the incident as a suspected suicide attack.
The blast occurred in the parking lot of the city’s busy judicial complex, located in a high-security district surrounded by government offices. Access to and from Pakistan’s capital is heavily controlled, with multiple security zones in place, underscoring the significance of an attack so close to key state institutions.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned what he described as a “suicide blast,” while Pakistan’s Defence Minister declared the country to be in a “state of war,” calling the incident a “wake-up call” regarding relations with neighboring Afghanistan.
Security officials told Reuters that early evidence suggests the attack was carried out by militants linked to the Afghan Taliban and Indian-backed networks, though no group has yet claimed responsibility.
The explosion follows a resurgence of Islamist violence across Pakistan since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of harboring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a claim the Afghan government denies.
Tensions between the two countries escalated last month after deadly border clashes the worst in years and collapsed peace talks in Turkey aimed at curbing cross-border militant activity.
The attack comes less than 24 hours after militants targeted a cadet college in northwestern Pakistan, further heightening fears of renewed instability in the region.
