The outlawed armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. The group is also known as the Pakistan Taliban. The group issued a statement a few hours after the attack. AFP reports.
The statement said, “Our fighters attacked the Judicial Commission in Islamabad. Pakistani judges, lawyers and officials who have given verdicts against Islamic law have been targeted.”
The group threatened more attacks, saying, “The attacks will continue until Islamic Sharia law is implemented in the Muslim-majority country.”
The explosion occurred on Tuesday afternoon (November 11) in a car parked outside the courthouse, which is usually crowded. The attack killed 12 people and injured 36 others. Most of the victims were pedestrians who had come to the court for a hearing.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that the attacker “tried to enter the court premises but failed and targeted a police vehicle.” He did not blame any armed group for the attack.
He said the investigation was ongoing and authorities were “looking into all aspects” of the attack. A police spokesman said, “We are investigating what kind of explosion it was. It is not yet clear. We will be able to provide more details after receiving the report from our forensic team.”
The country’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif reacted to the attack. He said, “Pakistan is in a state of war. This attack should be taken as a ‘warning message.’” Pointing to Afghanistan for this attack, Khawaja Asif said, “The rulers in Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan, but bringing this war to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which Pakistan is fully capable of giving a response.”
The country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the attack. He also blamed India for this attack. A central government statement said that the bomb attack was carried out by the ‘Indian-backed extremist group Fitna al-Hindustan’.
The Pakistani prime minister’s statement also said, ‘The Indian-instigated Khawarij from Afghanistan also attacked innocent children in Wana (in Waziristan); it is time for the world to condemn such heinous Indian conspiracy. Both attacks are the worst examples of Indian state terrorism in the region.’
Vowing to continue the fight against terrorism, the statement said, ‘We will continue the fight against terrorism until the menace of terrorism is completely eradicated and the last terrorist of Fitna al-Hindustan and Fitna al-Khawarij is eliminated.’
Vowing to bring the culprits to justice, the statement said, ‘The Prime Minister has ordered an inquiry into the incident and said that whatever happens, the culprits will be brought to justice.’
