Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday said the suicide bomber involved in the blast at Islamabad’s judicial complex was “related to Afghanistan”, while Rawalpindi’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested seven suspects who allegedly facilitated the attack.
Speaking on the Senate floor, Naqvi termed the alleged links to Tuesday’s blast incident, which killed 12 people and injured 35, a “very serious” concern. He noted that Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif have also been informed about the matter.
Referring to the attack on Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan on November 10, the interior minister said the suicide bomber involved in that incident was also from Afghanistan.
“It is becoming very difficult for us; the way people from Afghanistan are coming here and attacking us,” he said, adding that with Deputy PM Ishaq Dar also taking up the issue, they will do “whatever is possible” to tackle it.
Naqvi said the government was ensuring that illegal Afghans residing in Pakistan were driven out.
Later in the day, Naqvi said on X that he had a “deeply reassuring telephonic call” with Bahrain’s Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, who “unequivocally condemned the terrorist attack in Islamabad and conveyed heartfelt condolences on the loss of innocent lives”.
The Bahrain minister also reaffirmed his country’s “unwavering support and solidarity with Pakistan at all times”, Naqvi added.
Earlier in the day, Rawalpindi’s CTD arrested seven suspects who allegedly facilitated the suicide bomb blast in Islamabad.
According to a police source, the “suspected facilitators have been arrested from Rawalpindi’s Fauji Colony (Pirwadhai area) and Dhoke Kashmirian. Moreover, a raid was also conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
On Wednesday, investigators had detained a bike rider of an online ride-hailing platform who had dropped off the bomber outside at the location.
The incident had occurred as international events were being hosted in the capital, including the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference and the 6th Margalla Dialogue, while a cricket match between the Green Shirts and Sri Lanka was also being held in Rawalpindi.
The blast had occurred the same day a bomb attack targeted a security forces’ convoy in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district, injuring at least 14 personnel.
A day before that, the Cadet College in South Waziristan’s Wana had come under attack. While all students and teachers were reported to have been safely rescued and all terrorists holed up inside the building were killed, the clearance operation resulted in the martyrdom of three individuals.