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Pakistan declares 'state of war' after Islamabad bombing kills 12
Without directly naming who Pakistan was in a “state of war” with, Khawaja Asif indicated that Islamabad was running out of patience with the Taliban regime.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday declared that his country was now “in a state of war, calling the deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad a “wake-up call" for the nation.
Without directly naming who Pakistan was in a “state of war” with, Asif indicated that Islamabad was running out of patience with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan blames the Afghan Taliban for sheltering TTP, a claim that Kabul denies.
“We are in a state of war. Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today’s suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call: this is a war for all of Pakistan, in which the Pakistan Army is giving daily sacrifices and making the people feel secure," Asif wrote on social media platform X.
He added that it would be “futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul.”
The statement came hours after a suicide bomb attack near the district court buildings in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, that killed at least 12 people and injured 27 others. It was the first such bombing in the city in nearly two years.
What TTP said while claiming responsibility for the Islamabad bombing
The TTP said it had targeted “judges, lawyers, and officials" at the court complex for enforcing what it called Pakistan’s “un-Islamic laws", and warned of more attacks until Islamic rule was imposed across the country.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months, with officials blaming groups operating from across the Afghan border.
Pakistan has also blamed India for Tuesday's attack, prompting a sharp reply from New Delhi's ministry of external affairs.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated sharply since deadly border clashes in October, which killed more than 70 people.
Despite multiple rounds of talks, both sides have failed to agree on security measures, while Pakistan continues to accuse Afghanistan of providing safe havens to the TTP.
