Pakistan Investigates Suicide Bomb, Home Affairs Minister Accuses India-Taliban Behind Attack

UNSPLASH/Hans ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Pakistan began an investigation into a suicide bombing outside the Islamabad district court that killed 12 people the day before.

This underscores the challenges the government faces in dealing with militant attacks, tensions on the border, and a fragile ceasefire with Afghanistan.

Attacks in the court, which are located on the outskirts of the city and adjacent to settlements, have also raised concerns even though security forces have carried out various operations to crush militants, they are still capable of carrying out massive bomb attacks in the Pakistani capital.

Authorities have been battling a surge in militant attacks in recent years, but as of the bombings on Tuesday, Islamabad was largely seen as a safer place.

The forensic team and police searched the rubble on Wednesday at the site of the explosion, which had been sealed to guard evidence. Across the city, bereaved relatives received the bodies of their loved ones who died in a hospital in Islamabad.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi accused the attack "of being carried out by Indian-backed elements and the Afghan Taliban's proxies" linked to the Pakistani Taliban, although he said authorities were "investigating all aspects" of the explosion.

Currently, most of the 27 people injured in the bombing have been allowed to return home after receiving treatment.