At least 12 people have lost their lives and 27 others have been injured in a suicide attack in front of a court building in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Nakvi announced that the attacker targeted the district courthouse but was unable to enter the building, and therefore detonated the explosives outside.
Minister Nakvi stated in a post-incident statement, “Identifying the person responsible for the attack is our top priority. Whoever is behind this attack will be brought to justice.”
Nakvi also noted that the injured are being treated in hospitals, with some in critical condition.
EXPLOSION NEAR POLICE VEHICLE
According to officials, the attacker detonated the explosives near a police vehicle.
The attacker is said to have waited in the area for about 15 minutes before blowing up the bomb.
Witnesses reported that after the explosion, black smoke rose, vehicles caught fire, and a large number of police and ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
Lawyer Rustam Malik, speaking to AFP news agency, stated that he parked his vehicle at the moment of the attack and said, “I heard a loud explosion. Everyone was screaming, and people were fleeing into the courthouse complex. I saw two bodies in front of the door, and the vehicles were burning.”
STATEMENT FROM PAKISTANI LEADER
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari stated that he “strongly condemned” the attack and ordered security forces to swiftly apprehend the individuals and groups behind it.
According to officials, this was the first suicide attack in Islamabad in the past three years.
The last similar attack in the city, which resulted in the death of a police officer and injured several others, occurred in 2021.
Although suicide attacks have been seen in the country’s northwest and tribal areas in recent years, the capital had been distant from such acts for a long time.
Following the attack, security levels in the capital were raised to the highest. Police teams implemented extensive measures at court buildings, official institutions, and public areas.
