At least 31 people have been killed and over 169 injured following a blast outside a religious centre in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, on Friday.
The blast struck Tarlai Imambargah, a Shia religious centre in Islamabad’s Shehzad Town area, during Friday prayers, Dawn reported.
Police and rescue teams have arrived at the scene and are conducting rescue operations.
Islamabad Capital Territory Police Spokesperson Taqi Jawad stated that authorities could not yet confirm the blast’s nature, though evidence suggested a suicide bomber.
District administration officials reported that security personnel have fully sealed the site, with assistant commissioners assigned to coordinate treatment of the injured across hospitals, according to Dawn.
A suicide bomber detonated himself during Friday prayers at a Shi’ite mosque in Islamabad, according to two police officials.
Images from the scene showed bloodied bodies on the mosque’s carpeted floor amid shattered glass, debris, and panicked worshippers.
Police and Rescue 1122 teams arrived promptly to launch operations. Emergencies were declared at Polyclinic, PIMS, and CDA Hospital. Bombings remain rare in the heavily guarded capital, despite Pakistan facing a rising wave of militancy in recent years. In a similar blast last year in November, a suicide bomber detonated at the entrance of Islamabad’s District Judicial Complex, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens, reported Dawn.
The escalation drew further with recent developments in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, driven by groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
Balochistan saw major militant violence, with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) launching coordinated attacks across nine districts, including Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung, and Nushki, from January 30.
Militants targeted security posts, police stations, a high-security prison, banks, and civilian areas using guns, grenades, and suicide bombings, killing 17 security personnel and 31 civilians.
Pakistani forces conducted counter-operations from January 29 to February 2, killing 216-218 militants while losing 22 personnel.
Authorities imposed curfews, banned public gatherings, and restricted face coverings amid the manhunt.
While there has been no claim of the blast as of now, but the investigating agencies are probing the incident.
While the attack’s method and target mirror Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) recent pattern, a suicide bomber struck a Shia congregation during Friday prayers in the capital, echoing the November 2025 Islamabad court bombing and a broader wave of sectarian and anti‑state attacks attributed to the group.
