Suicide Blast Strikes Islamabad Court Complex, Killing 12 and Injuring 27 | Pakistan TTP Claims Responsibility

Suicide Blast Strikes Islamabad Court Complex, Killing 12 and Injuring 27 | Pakistan TTP Claims Responsibility

Islamabad, Nov 12: A powerful explosion tore through a judicial complex in Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 27 others in what officials later confirmed was a suicide bombing.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the blast occurred at 12:39 p.m. local time when the attacker attempted to enter the court building on foot. Failing to get inside, the bomber detonated explosives near a police vehicle after waiting for 10 to 15 minutes outside the gate.

Witnesses described scenes of panic and devastation. Videos from the site showed lawyers in black coats and white shirts sitting dazed on the road, their clothes splattered with blood. Several vehicles parked nearby were reduced to twisted metal. The explosion was heard several kilometres away, shattering windows and scattering debris across the street.

Initially, officials suspected a car bomb, but investigators later confirmed it was a suicide attack. The explosion struck at a busy hour when the area was packed with lawyers, court staff, and visitors attending hearings.

TTP Claims Responsibility

Hours after the attack, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility, saying one of its fighters had targeted the “judicial commission” in Islamabad. “Judges, lawyers, and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,” the group said in a statement, warning of more attacks until Islamic law is enforced in the country.

Naqvi confirmed that most of the victims were near the police vehicle where the attacker detonated the bomb.

Also Read – 27th Constitutional Amendment in Pakistan: Opposition Announces Nationwide Shutdown, Opposition Vows to Empower Asim Munir

Eyewitness Mohammed Shahzad Butt, a lawyer, told AFP: “Everyone started running inside out of panic. I saw at least five dead bodies lying near the front gate.” Another lawyer, Rustam Malik, recalled hearing “a loud bang” as he entered the complex. “It was complete chaos — lawyers and people were running everywhere. I saw two bodies by the gate and several cars on fire,” he said.

Wave of Violence and Regional Tensions

The blast comes as Pakistan faces a renewed wave of militant violence. On Tuesday, security forces said they had foiled an overnight attack on an army-run college in the northwest, where a suicide car bomber and five Taliban fighters attempted to take cadets hostage, according to an Associated Press report.

The country’s last major suicide bombing occurred in December 2022, but attacks have surged in recent months. Officials have blamed armed groups allegedly operating from sanctuaries across the border in Afghanistan.

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have also been rising. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out drone strikes on October 9 that killed several people in Kabul, sparking cross-border clashes that left dozens dead, including soldiers and civilians on both sides. A Qatar-brokered ceasefire on October 19 has since kept the fighting at bay, though relations remain strained.

Leaders React

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called Tuesday’s bombing a “wake-up call” for the government and the military. “In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul,” he said in a statement.

The attack came just a day after a car explosion in Delhi killed nine people and injured 20 — a coincidence that’s added to growing regional unease over escalating violence.

As investigators comb through the debris in Islamabad, officials have tightened security across the capital and nearby provinces. For many residents, the blast is a grim reminder of Pakistan’s violent past — and a warning that the threat of militancy has not gone away.