4 suspects arrested after Pakistan mosque bombing leaves 31 dead

Pakistani security forces raided several locations and arrested four suspects, including the alleged mastermind, behind a Suicide attack on a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of the capital that killed 31 people, the interior minister said Saturday.

Mohsin Naqvi’s announcement came a day after a regional affiliate of the IS group, identifying itself as Islamic State in Pakistan, claimed responsibility in a statement carried by its Amaq news agency. The statement said the attacker opened fire on Friday at security guards who tried to stop him at the main gate before detonating his explosive vest after reaching the mosque’s inner door.

One hundred and sixty-nine people were injured in the bombing. Photographs from the scene showed children among the victims. A local security official said the mosque was packed with people attending Friday prayer services. Zahir Hussain told News themezone he was parking to enter the mosque when the massive explosion threw him against the door of his car.

“After that, for a while there was an awful silence, then what I saw in the mosque, I have no words to explain it,” Hussain said.

It was the deadliest such incident in Islamabad since 2008, when a suicide bomb attack at the Marriott Hotel killed 63 people and injured more than 250. In November, a suicide bomber exploded outside a court in the capital, killing 12 people.

Pakistan arrests suspects linked to attack

Naqvi described the alleged mastermind of the attack as an Afghan linked to IS. He alleged that the attack was planned and that the attacker trained in Afghanistan with financial backing from India, claims for which he provided no immediate evidence. There was no immediate comment from New Delhi and Kabul.

Naqvi also alleged that several militant groups were operating from Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan and urged the international community to take note, warning that instability could spread beyond the region.

Referring to public concerns about safety lapses, he said: “If one explosion happens, 99 others will also be foiled.”

The terrorist group suggested it viewed Pakistani Shiites as legitimate targets, calling them a “human reserve” that provided recruits to Shiite militias fighting the Islamic State in Syria.

Funerals of the victims

Earlier, more than 2,000 grieving people gathered as coffins of the dead were brought to the same mosque for the funerals of around a dozen victims, joined by Shiite community leaders and senior government officials. The funerals of other victims would be held in their places of origin.

IS is a Sunni group that has attacked Pakistan’s Shiite minority in the past, apparently seeking to stoke sectarian divisions in the Sunni-majority country. In 2022, he claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that attacked a Shiite Muslim mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 56 people and wounding 194.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif told reporters on Friday that the attack indicated that Pakistan-based militants operating from Afghanistan could attack even in the capital. His comments prompted a harsh response from Afghanistan’s Taliban government.

In a statement, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry condemned the Islamabad mosque attack but said the Pakistani Defense Minister had “irresponsibly” linked it to Afghanistan. Pakistan has frequently accused Afghanistan, where The Taliban returned to power in August 2021, of harboring militants, including members of the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul denies the accusations.

Attack sparks international condemnation

The attack drew condemnation from the broader international community, including the United States, Russia and the European Union.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was grateful for the messages of sympathy and support received “from around the world” following what he called the “heartbreaking suicide attack in Islamabad.” He said international support remained critical to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts and pledged that perpetrators would be brought to justice.

Although Pakistan’s capital has seen relatively few attacks compared to other regions, the country has seen a recent rise in militant violence. Much of this has been attributed to Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is a separate group but allied to the Afghan Taliban.