ISLAMABAD, FEB 6: At least 15 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Islamabad’s Tarlai area on Friday, police and the district administration confirmed.

The police, in a statement, said the explosion took place during Friday prayers at Imambargah Khadijat-ul-Kubra, located in the federal capital’s Tarlai area.

According to officials, the suicide bomber detonated himself after being stopped at the entrance of the mosque.

Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon, in a post on X, said that more than 80 people were injured in the blast in the federal capital, while 15 victims have so far been brought dead to different hospitals.

He noted that an emergency has been imposed at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic Hospital and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) hospital.

The statement added that assistant commissioners have been deployed at various hospitals to supervise the treatment and medical care of the injured. The site of the blast has been completely sealed, he added.

Pims authorities said that so far, 11 bodies and 60 injured persons have been brought. They added that the hospital has reached its capacity to accommodate the wounded.

Due to the pressure on facilities in the capital, the injured are also being shifted to hospitals in other parts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, police, Pakistan Army troops and Rangers have cordoned off the area and security operations are underway in and around the site of the blast.

Condolences pour in
President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari expressed deep grief and sorrow over the blast and offered condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the blast and prayed for their patience.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the bombing. He expressed deep sorrow and grief over the martyrdoms in the blast and extended his sympathies to the bereaved families.

Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry also said that he strongly condemns, in the strongest terms, the tragic explosion. “My heart is deeply grieved by the loss of precious lives in this cowardly act.”

Former finance minister Miftah Ismail termed the incident “absolutely horrendous” and wondered how can anyone bomb Friday prayers in a mosque”.

The blast comes days after Balochistan witnessed deadly attacks, carried out by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which claimed the lives of 36 innocent civilians, including women and children, along with 22 security and law enforcement personnel.

Terrorists struck civilians in Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar, and Pasni on January 31.

A day earlier, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, security forces concluded Operation Raddul Fitna 1, eliminating at least 216 terrorists in various coordinated engagements and clearance operations.

The attacks, since then, have drawn condemnations from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye, Iran, the UAE, France, Canada, the European Union, the OIC, the UNSC and others.

Expanding on the counterterror operations, the military’s media wing said that operations were initiated in Panjgur and the outskirts of Harnai district on January 29, 2026, after credible and verified intelligence confirmed the presence of terrorist elements posing an imminent threat to the local public.

“During this phase, security forces undertook operations against identified terrorist hideouts, resulting in the elimination of 41 terrorists affiliated with Indian proxy networks.”

“Subsequently, aggressive and steadfast responses by security forces effectively thwarted the desperate attacks of Fitna al-Hindustan to destabilise the peace of Balochistan,” remarked the ISPR, adding that as a sequel to these, a broader series of intelligence-based operations were launched in multiple areas to dismantle terrorist sleeper cells through sustained combing and sanitisation operations.