Islamabad | Pakistan

Four terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested for their involvement in the suicide blast in Islamabad earlier this week, the government said on Friday. “In a joint operation conducted by the Intelligence Bureau Division and the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), four members of the TTP/Fitna al-Khawarij terrorist cell involved in the suicide attack at the Judicial Complex G-11, Islamabad have been apprehended,” the government said in a post on social media platform X. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the TTP. The government said that during the investigation, the handler of the suicide bomber, identified as Sajidullah alias Sheena, confessed that TTP Commander Saeedur Rehman alias Daadullah contacted him through the Telegram app to carry out a suicide attack in Islamabad to cause maximum casualties of law enforcement agencies. The government said that the TTP commander sent pictures of the suicide bomber, identified as Usman alias...

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has unveiled a new security initiative titled “Secure Neighbourhood”, designed to bolster safety measures across Islamabad in response to the recent blast outside the city’s district courts.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi revealed on Thursday that Afghan nationals were involved in the recent suicide bombing in Islamabad and the terrorist attack on Wana Cadet College.

Medical experts at Islamabad’s largest public-sector hospital, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), performed a robotic surgery using the Toumai surgical robot on Thursday. Robot-assisted surgery has significantly advanced urology — medical speciality that deals with the urinary system. It offers superior precision, reduced invasiveness, and improved clinical outcomes compared to traditional techniques. The Toumai system integrates force sensing, high-frequency response capabilities, and telerobotic surgery capabilities. The robotic surgery at Pims was performed by both local and international medical experts, including Prof Shamim Khan, Prof Mateen Sharif and Dr Javed Burki from the UK, while the surgical team from Pims included Dr Atif Inam Shami, Dr Burhan ul Haq, and Dr Khalid Saeed. Executive Director Pims Dr Rana Imran Sikander said it was the first time a robotic surgery was performed at the hospital. During the surgery, the adrenal glands of a female patient were removed. Pims spokesperson D...

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...

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Wednesday said that the suicide bomber who carried out the attack outside the Islamabad district and sessions court building was “not a Pakistani national”. Twelve people were killed and 36 were injured in a suicide blast on Tuesday outside the district and sessions court building in Islamabad’s G-11 area. The incident occurred as international events were being hosted in the capital, including the first one-day international (ODI) match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. A clearance operation was also carried out in Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan against terrorists hiding inside the educational institute. Statements from the leadership had linked the attacks to Afghanistan and India. Elaborating on the matter in an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Chaudhry said: “The suicide attacker in the Islamabad blast was not a Pakistani. I am confirming this to you. He did not know Pakistan’s language nor did he know of the c...

ISLAMABAD - Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the site of the explosion outside Islamabad’s G-11 district courts on Tuesday, directing authorities to complete the search operation swiftly and submit a comprehensive investigation report.

Islamabad - A number of countries, including US, China and Russia, and international partners condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with Pakistan.

Several lawyers, policemen among victims Head of suicide bomber found at crime scene Bomber detonated explosives near main gate of Islamabad district courts Any local or foreigner involved in blast will not be spared, warns Interior Minister.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday had a meeting at the Presidency, where they discussed the country’s security situation in the wake of multiple terrorist attacks. Earlier today, a suicide attack was carried out outside the district and sessions court premises in Islamabad, killing 12 people and injuring 36. Additionally, 14 security personnel were injured during a bomb attack in Dera Ismail Khan, while an operation to neutralise three terrorists in the Wana Cadet College remains ongoing. According to state broadcaster PTV, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and federal ministers Syed Mushtaq Raza Naqvi, Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Khalid Hussain Magsi, and Abdul Aleem Khan were present during the meeting. Condemning today’s incidents, the premier and the president had an “exchange of views on the country’s overall political and security situation”, PTV wrote in a post on X. “Both leaders reaffirm their resolve that act...

Twelve people were killed and 36 were injured on Tuesday in a suicide blast outside the district and sessions court building in Islamabad’s G-11 area, according to officials. The incident 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. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, while briefing the media outside the court, said that a “suicide blast” had occurred at 12:39pm. He said that 12 people were killed and 27 were injured, adding that the wounded were being provided medical treatment, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally in touch with the hospitals in question. Later, however, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Dr Mubahshir Daha, said that “12 people have been martyred in the blast”, while the number of injured had risen to 36, as per a statement. “Following the attack, an...

Sources have revealed that Afghanistan’s involvement has been uncovered in the recent suicide bombing in Islamabad, allegedly carried out with support from the Indian-backed militant group Fitna al-Khawarij.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said Pakistan was in a “state of war” after at least 12 people were killed and 36 were injured on Tuesday in a suicide blast in the federal capital, adding that it was futile to hope for any positive outcome of talks with Kabul after the incident. The incident 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 Greenshirts and Sri Lanka was also being held in Pindi. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed the incident on terrorists “active with Indian support”. The incident comes following a breakdown in negotiations with the Afghan Taliban government. “We are in a state of war. Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today’s suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call: this is a war for all of Pakistan, in which...

At least 12 people were killed and 36 were injured as a bomb blast ripped through the district and sessions court building in Islamabad’s G-11 area, according to officials. Officials said that it was a suicide attack. The blast 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. Here are some images from the site of the blast. A charred car is pictured at the suicide blast site in Islamabad. — AFP People stand near a damaged police vehicle after a blast outside a court building in Islamabad. — Reuters Members of the forensic team work after a blast outside a court building in Islamabad. — Reuters Firefighters douse a car at the suicide blast site in Islamabad. — AFP Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (C) visits suicide blast site in Islamabad. — AFP Policemen examine a car after a suicide blast in Islamabad. — AFP Polic...

Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the site of the explosion outside Islamabad’s G-11 district courts on Tuesday, directing authorities to complete the search operation swiftly and submit a comprehensive investigation report.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Irfan Siddiqui passed away in Islamabad after a brief illness.

PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui passed away on Monday in Islamabad after a brief illness, his son confirmed. His family earlier today said that he had not been placed on a ventilator but was admitted to an intensive care unit due to breathing difficulties. In a statement, the senator’s family said that Siddiqui had been receiving treatment at a local hospital in Islamabad for the past few days due to respiratory distress. President Asif Ali Zardari extended his condolences to the senator’s family on their loss, according to a statement from the President’s House. Paying tribute to Senator Siddiqui, President Zardari said the departed had made “immense contributions” to democracy in Pakistan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also extended his condolences and praised Siddiqui as a “champion of high traditions in both journalism and politics”. Earlier today, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry claimed that the PML-N leader had been put on a ventilator after his health had worsened. “Senior politician ...

The ten-day annual Lok Mela organized by the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) begins in Islamabad today, celebrating Pakistan’s rich cultural diversity under the theme “Yakjehti k Rang, Lok Virsa k Sang.

An Islamabad court on Thursday withdrew non-bailable arrest warrants issued a day earlier against human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and her husband, Advocate Hadi Ali Chattha, in a social media posts case, a day after. The National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCIA) had registered a case against Mazari and Chattha, accusing the two of attempting to incite divisions on linguistic grounds through social media posts and of creating the impression that the armed forces were engaged in terrorism within the country. Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Muhammad Afzal Majoka had indicted the two in the case last week, in which both denied the charges. At yesterday’s hearing, the court issued non-bailable arrest warrants to the couple over repeated non-appearance. However, the accused alleged that they had appeared in front of the court and termed the hearing a “sham trial”. Today’s hearing, presided over by ADSJ Majoka, was called twice in the morning —first at 8:45am and later ...

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for eight PTI leaders, including Asad Qaiser, Shibli Faraz, Omar Ayub and Ali Nawaz Awan, in a case registered under terrorism provisions. Today’s hearing was presided over by ATC Judge Tahir Abbas Sipra, with none of the PTI leaders appearing before the court despite being repeatedly summoned. Expressing displeasure over their continued absence, the judge ordered their arrest and directed authorities to produce them before November 11. The hearing was subsequently adjourned until the next date. The case was registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) against the PTI leaders under relevant sections of the anti-terrorism act with charges of involvement in activities falling within the ambit of terrorism-related offences. Non-bailable arrest warrants for Gandapur In a separate development, Additional District and Sessions Judge Nasruminallah Baloch issued non-bailable arrest warrants for former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minis...