Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing near a district court in Islamabad that killed 12 people and wounded at least 36 others, according to local media reports.
The explosion occurred Monday outside the main gate of a state court in the capital’s G-11 district. Police officials said the device contained roughly four kilograms of explosives. Local authorities have since confirmed that the bomber’s movements were tracked with the aid of artificial intelligence tools, though further details have not been made public.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi vowed that those responsible would be punished. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari both issued statements saying the attack was under active investigation and that the government was monitoring the situation closely.
“It was a powerful blast,” said Mohammad Shehzad Butt, a lawyer who was present at the scene. “Everyone panicked and ran inside. I saw at least five bodies lying near the entrance,” he told Agence France-Presse.
The bombing took place as Islamabad was hosting several high-profile international events, including the Sixth Margalla Dialogue and a meeting of parliamentary representatives from Islamic countries. The city was under tight security, raising concerns about the breach.
Meanwhile, a tri-nation cricket tournament featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe was underway, with one match held Tuesday in nearby Rawalpindi.
The TTP, which has carried out numerous attacks on Pakistani security forces and government institutions, is a banned organization that has long operated along the Afghan-Pakistan border. The group has escalated its attacks in recent months amid strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban government in Kabul, which Pakistan accuses of sheltering TTP fighters — a claim the Taliban deny.
