ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Interior, Senator Talal Chaudhry said on Friday that India-sponsored and Afghanistan-based terrorist networks were behind the suicide bombing that struck an Imambargah in Islamabad, killing 31 people and injuring more than one hundred.
Speaking to reporters outside the attack site, where he stood alongside the Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of the Capital Development Authority, the minister said the incident fit a recurring pattern seen in recent terror strikes across the country.
The suicide blast occurred at 1:42 PM, he said, and within minutes the city administration received the first alerts. Rescue teams from multiple departments arrived in 10 to 12 minutes, and a medical emergency was immediately declared in Islamabad’s hospitals. Senior administrative heads including the Commissioner, IG Islamabad, and Deputy Commissioner rushed to the scene.
Chaudhry said that on the directives of the prime minister and the interior minister, he remained at the hospital to oversee rescue and support operations.
He confirmed that the suicide bomber had been identified, while not an Afghan citizen, the attacker’s confirmed travel history to Afghanistan and forensic evidence recovered from the scene pointed to a familiar operational pattern.
According to Chaudhry, the same networks—allegedly sponsored by India and facilitated from Afghan territory had been involved in similar incidents across the country. “These terrorists operate in two shapes: those who grow beards and misuse religion, and others like the BLA who weaponize ethnicity. Both are funded in dollars, not ideology,” he said.
He added that only a week earlier, militants had planned what they described as a “surprise” in Balochistan but suffered severe setbacks instead.