ISLAMABAD — A devastating explosion ripped through the entrance of the district and sessions court complex in Islamabad’s G-11 sector on Tuesday, leaving at least 12 people dead and several others wounded in what officials are treating as a suicide blast, according to “Dawn News”.
According to police, the attacker unable to gain access to the court gates, detonated explosives in a parked vehicle near a police guard post, just as morning cases were beginning.
Witnesses described the scene as utter chaos: “I heard a loud bang at the gate. Lawyers and staff were running; I saw two bodies and cars ablaze,” said one lawyer present at the time.
Hospital officials confirmed that the critically injured were rushed to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, where rescue teams continue triage efforts.
In a brief statement, President Asif Ali Zardari denounced the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims; he also applauded the swift response of law-enforcement agencies. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the strike as “a wake-up call,” noting that although much of the fighting has occurred in Pakistan’s border and remote regions, today’s attack in the heart of the capital underscores that the nation remains in a state of war.
The blast marks one of the most severe strikes to hit Islamabad in recent weeks, rattling a city that had largely felt insulated from the worst of militant violence. Authorities have yet to receive a claim of responsibility and have deployed a forensic team to collect evidence and survey the perimeter.
Security around federal buildings and courts in the capital has been significantly tightened, and investigators say they will review guard-point vulnerabilities, vehicle screening protocols and visitor access in the wake of the attack. As dawn broke over the city, Islamabad’s citizens returned to work, but many did so under the shadow of a blast that has shifted the threat closer to home. __Photo Courtesy X, former Twitter
