Islamabad: At least 12 people were killed and over 20 were injured, mostly lawyers, after a powerful explosion ripped through a car near the Islamabad judicial complex on Tuesday, according to Pakistani media reports. The explosion is suspected to have been caused by a gas cylinder fitted inside the parked vehicle, according to a preliminary probe.
The blast, which occurred around 12.30 pm during peak business hours near the entrance of the Islamabad district court, triggered panic among lawyers present at the court premises.
The impact of the explosion was so strong that it was heard up to six kilometres away, damaging several nearby vehicles. Most of the injured were lawyers and court employees, while police are investigating the possibility of a suicide attack.
The incident came just hours after Pakistan’s security forces thwarted an attempted assault by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants on Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan, killing two attackers.
Pakistan has long struggled with growing militant violence linked to the TTP, whose activities have intensified since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of sheltering TTP leaders, straining relations between the two neighbours.
Tuesday’s explosion in Islamabad came a day after a car blast near Delhi’s Red Fort killed 10 people. The Delhi incident coincided with the busting of a terror module linked to Pakistan-based groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, from whom police seized 2,900 kg of explosive material.
