Pakistan arrests suspects over deadly Islamabad bombing

Pakistan arrests suspects over deadly Islamabad bombing 

Pakistani security agencies have arrested several suspects linked to this week’s deadly suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad, which killed 12 people and heightened tensions with neighbouring Afghanistan.

According to security sources on Thursday, those arrested include an alleged handler and a facilitator of the suspected Taliban bomber who detonated explosives in front of a court complex earlier in the week.

Two intelligence officials confirmed that the arrests were made in separate operations in Rawalpindi — adjacent to Islamabad — and in the north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a known hub for Taliban activity.

“It seems there was a whole network behind the bombing. We are very close to making more headway and arrests,” one official told dpa under condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO:

• FCTA officials allege Naval threat during enforcement at illegal construction site in Abuja
• MUSWEN refutes Trump’s genocide claim, says Nigeria not in religious war
• Police arrest three suspected child traffickers, rescue 17 children in Kaduna

The rare suicide attack in the Pakistani capital has deepened strains between Islamabad and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, following a recent escalation of cross-border violence.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Kabul of providing safe haven to the Pakistani Taliban — a distinct group from the Afghan Taliban but aligned in ideology and tactics. Afghan authorities, however, have denied the accusations, urging dialogue instead.

Tensions between the two countries flared last month after deadly border clashes and a series of militant incursions that Islamabad blamed on fighters based in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, confirmed on Thursday that the suicide bomber was an Afghan national, describing the incident as part of a “growing trend” of foreign militants carrying out attacks inside the country.

Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, speaking to Geo News, warned that Pakistan could again resort to cross-border airstrikes targeting alleged militant hideouts in Afghanistan if such attacks persist.

The Islamabad bombing, which struck a crowded area near a judicial complex, was one of the deadliest to hit the capital in recent years, raising fresh concerns over Pakistan’s fragile security situation and its strained ties with Kabul.

Pakistan arrests suspects over deadly Islamabad bombing