A suicide bombing attack at a Shia mosque in Islamabad, one of the worst such incidents to hit Pakistan’s capital, has prompted messages of condemnation and condolences.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decried the incident.
They extended condolences to the families of the victims in sperate statements and asked that all possible medical assistance be provided for those wounded.
“Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity. The nation stands with the affected families in this difficult time.”
Asif Ali Zardari
Sharif said that those who are responsible must be identified and punished. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack.
A suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others.
The powerful explosion occurred at Khadija Tul Kubra mosque, in southeastern Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area, during Friday prayers.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif wrote on X that preliminary findings suggest the suicide bomber had been on the move to and from Afghanistan.
Asif said the mosque’s security guards tried to intercept the suspect, who opened fire at them and then detonated his explosives among the worshippers. The condition of the guards was not immediately known.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but suspicion is likely to fall on militants such as the Pakistani Taliban or the Islamic State group, which has been blamed for previous attacks on Shiite worshippers, a minority in the country. Militant groups across Pakistan often target security forces and civilians.
Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan, where the Taliban seized power again in August 2021 as American and NATO troops were withdrawing after a 20-year war, of harboring militants and members of the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul denies the accusation.
In a post on X, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ishaq Dar condemned the incident as a “cowardly suicide attack on innocent worshippers.”
“Targeting places of worship and civilians is a heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles. Pakistan stands united against terrorism in all its forms.”
Ishaq Dar
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the “Islamic Republic of Afghanistan condemns such attacks that violate the sanctity of sacred rituals and mosques and target worshippers and innocent people.”
The attack also drew condemnation from the international community, including the United Sates and European Union. Condolences and condemnation also poured in from various embassies in Islamabad.
A top Shiite leader, Raja Nasir, expressed deep sorrow over the attack and asked for people to give blood as the hospitals in Islamabad were in urgent need for blood supplies for the wounded.
“Such a terrorist act in the federal capital is not only a serious failure in protecting human lives but also raises significant questions about the performance of the authorities and law enforcement agencies.”
Raja Nasir
Suicide Blast Amid Surge In Militant Attacks
The suicide Blast, a rare bombing in Pakistan’s capital, came as its Western-allied government struggles to rein in a surge in militant attacks across the country.
Though attacks are not so frequent in Islamabad, Pakistan has seen a surge in militant violence in recent months, largely blamed on Baloch separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is a separate group, but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. A regional affiliate of the Islamic State group has also been active in the country.
The latest attack came nearly a week after the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army carried out multiple attacks in insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province, killing about 50 people. Security forces responding to those attacks also killed more than 200 “terrorists,” according to the military.
The last deadliest attack in Islamabad was in 2008, when a suicide bombing targeted the Marriott Hotel in the capital, killing 63 people and wounding over 250 others. In November, a suicide bomber had struck outside a court in Islamabad, killing 12 people.
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