Just on Tuesday, a suicide explosion tore through Pakistan capital of Islamabad. It was the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who perpetrated today’s attack, killing at least 12 people and injuring 27 others. The explosion occurred around 12:30 PM outside district court buildings, where the bomber targeted a police vehicle. Assorted initial reports indicate that the assailant focused on trying to enter the courts’ compound. When that didn’t work, the attacker went after police officers and began a shooting spree.
The TTP has publicly taken credit for the attack. They announced that their goal was to kill judges, lawyers, and officials who are enforcing laws they consider to be un-Islamic. In a particularly ominous statement, the group threatened to increase violence in response to failure to enforce Islamic sharia law throughout Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif deemed the incident a “wake-up call”. He spoke with urgency about the need to confront the continuing terror threats that our nation is under. He drew attention to the shocking rise in incidents of violence perpetrated by TTP terrorists. He highlighted that the country is reeling under a next lethal wave of separatist insurgency in Balochistan.
Describing the state of the security environment in a recent National Statement of Readiness, Asif painted a dark picture.
“We are in a state of war.” – Khawaja Asif
He underscored that it would be a waste of time to negotiate with an Afghanistan Taliban. As it stands though, success is simply a physical impossibility under the present conditions. Pakistan blames the Afghan Taliban for providing safe haven and organizing armed support for TTP fighters. This vastly complicates any efforts to stabilize the rest of the region.
In eyewitness accounts to Al Jazeera, survivors described a scene of pandemonium in the immediate aftermath of the explosion. Rustam Malik, an attorney who was on the scene when the shooting broke out, described the chaos that followed.
“It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire.” – Rustam Malik
According to local journalist Mohsin Naqvi, the bomber was attempting to test the court’s security when he detonated his explosives. He ended up going after a police vehicle instead. This pivot to a focus on outcomes might have been the most critical difference in stopping additional deaths from being the outcome.
The recent violence is symptomatic of a growing trend in Pakistan. Civilians are becoming more vulnerable to attacks with TTP militants increasingly demonstrating their operational capacity to target both military and civilian interests. Analysts worry that without immediate action to counter these threats, such attacks will only grow more common and fatal.