A massive explosion on Friday rocked Pakistan’s Islamabad, following which a state of emergency was declared in the city, said the police, adding that the incident claimed 25 lives. The blast, suspected to be a suicide bombing, occurred at Tarlai Imambargah in the Shehzad Town area of Islamabad.
The explosion happened at a Shia shrine after Friday prayers, killing at least 25 people and leaving more than 80 people injured. The injured have been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Polyclinic Hospital for treatment. A rescue operation is currently underway and security forces have arrived at the spot.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the blast. In a statement, his office said that the prime minister has expressed "deep grief" and "strongly condemned" the blast.
Pakistan's massive operation in Balochistan
The suicide bombing has happened in Islamabad at a time when Pakistani forces have launched a massive operation, named Radd-ul-Fitna-1, in its Balochistan province. In the operation that was launched on January 26, the Pakistani forces have neutralised as many as 216 Baloch rebels. However, the operation also claimed the lives of 22 security personnel and 36 civilians.
Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan, and an insurgency has been going on there since long. The Baloch groups want independence and have been targeting Pakistani forces and projects related to the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Second suicide bombing in three months
Meanwhile, this is the second suicide bombing that has happened Islamabad in around last three months. In November last year, a suicide bombing had happened at Islamabad District Judicial Complex, leaving 12 people dead and 27 others injured. According to Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the suicide bomber had killed himself near a police vehicle outside the court after "failing to enter the premises".
Last, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had blamed Afghanistan for the blast, as he declared that his country is at a 'state of war'. "Anyone who thinks the Pakistan army is fighting this only in the Afghan-Pakistan border region or Balochistan should take the suicide attack at Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call. This is a war for all of Pakistan," Asif had posted on X (previously Twitter).
