Islamabad: The death toll of the suicide blast targeting a worship place in Pakistan's federal capital Islamabad has risen to 31 people while another 169 were injured. A senior administrative chief of the capital, Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon, confirmed that at least 31 people have been killed and 169 others injured.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the suicide bomber struck just as worshippers were offering Friday prayers in the Tarlai area on the outskirts of Islamabad. Pakistan's Health Minister, Mustafa Kamal, issued urgent directives with an emergency declared in all federal government hospitals. He issued directives to ensure the availability of medicines, medical equipment, and other essential arrangements.
Security has been beefed up in Islamabad and adjoining Rawalpindi city, especially around mosques and worship places. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing. Defense Minister of Pakistan, Khawaja Asif, in a statement to the media, said that the preliminary investigations confirmed the terrorist involved in the attack had traveled to Afghanistan multiple times. The minister vowed that the state would respond to this brutality with full force.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, after a briefing with the interior minister, ordered an immediate and thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice, asserting that the government would not permit "mischief and unrest" to take root in the country. The Islamabad blast came days after recent coordinated multiple attacks in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, killing 36 innocent civilians and 22 security personnel.
In retaliation, Pakistan military confirmed the killing of 216 "terrorists" in well-coordinated engagements and subsequent clearance operations across the province.