At least 31 killed, more than 160 injured in mosque bombing in Pakistan’s capital

A massive bombing ripped through a Shia mosque on the outskirts of Pakistan’s capital during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others, police said.

Islamabad police said the blast at the sprawling mosque was an attack and that an investigation was underway. Rescuers and witnesses said some of the wounded were listed as being in critical condition. Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the injured to nearby hospitals.

Rescuers and witnesses described a harrowing scene, with bodies and wounded lying on the mosque’s carpeted floor.

Hussain Shah said he was praying in the mosque courtyard when he heard a sudden, loud explosion.

“I immediately thought that some big attack had happened,” he said. He then went into the mosque to utter chaos, as many of the wounded were screaming and crying out for help. Shah said he counted around 30 bodies inside the mosque, while the number of the wounded appeared to be significantly higher.

Afghanistan condemns attack

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion. The Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State group have been cited in previous attacks, as militants often target security forces and civilians across Pakistan.

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.

Pakistan’s Defence 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. 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 harbouring militants and members of the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul denies the accusation.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Friday 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 States and European Union. Condolences and condemnation also poured in from various embassies in Islamabad.

‘A crime against humanity’

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in separate statements and extended condolences to the families of those killed. They instructed that all possible medical assistance be provided for those wounded.

“Targeting innocent civilians is a crime against humanity,” Zardari said. “The nation stands with the affected families in this difficult time.”

Sharif said he has ordered a full investigation.

“Those who are responsible must be identified and punished,” he said.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack, and asked authorities to ensure the provision of best medical care to the wounded.

The attack occurred as Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who is on an official two-day visit, was attending an event with Sharif. That event in Islamabad was several kilometres away from the site of the explosion.

The last such deadly 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. And in November, a suicide bomber had struck outside a court in Islamabad, killing 12 people and wounding 27 others.

The latest attack comes 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.