Key points: Pakistan says Afghan nationals carried out two suicide attacks this week — a court bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 and wounded 27, and an attempted assault on Cadet College Wana that left three soldiers dead. Authorities say the college attack was planned from Afghanistan, used "American-made" weapons and had alleged approval from TTP leadership; the TTP denies involvement. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has renewed calls for talks amid fears a fragile cease-fire may collapse; arrests have been reported.
Pakistan Says Afghan Nationals Behind Deadly Suicide Attacks in Islamabad and Wana
Key points: Pakistan says Afghan nationals carried out two suicide attacks this week — a court bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 and wounded 27, and an attempted assault on Cadet College Wana that left three soldiers dead. Authorities say the college attack was planned from Afghanistan, used "American-made" weapons and had alleged approval from TTP leadership; the TTP denies involvement. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has renewed calls for talks amid fears a fragile cease-fire may collapse; arrests have been reported.
09:22 PM, 11/13/2025Conflict
Pakistan blames Afghan nationals for two deadly suicide attacks
Pakistan's interior minister on Thursday said Afghan nationals were responsible for two suicide bombings this week — one outside a district court in Islamabad and another in an assault on Cadet College Wana near the Afghan border.
"In both of the suicide bombings, Afghan citizens were involved, and they carried out the attacks," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said. Kabul had no immediate comment.
On Tuesday, a suicide blast outside a district court in Islamabad killed 12 people and injured 27 others. A day earlier, on Monday, three soldiers died after a suicide bomber and four other militants attempted to storm Cadet College Wana in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, triggering a prolonged gunbattle.
Response and allegations
Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the college attack was planned and directed from Afghanistan, carried out by Afghan nationals and used weapons supplied from across the border. In a post on X, the ministry identified a militant known only as "Zahid" as the orchestrator and said the assault had approval from TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud. The ministry also alleged the attackers used "American-made" weapons that had made their way into militant hands after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has denied responsibility for these attacks. A TTP splinter faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, initially claimed the Islamabad bombing but one of its commanders later retracted that statement. Authorities reported arrests in multiple raids in connection with the Islamabad blast.
Security actions and evacuations
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters that security forces killed all five attackers at Cadet College Wana and safely evacuated more than 600 people, including 525 cadets along with their teachers and staff. The Pakistan Army escorted journalists to the campus, which showed visible signs of the assault. Tarar said the assailants appeared to be attempting to replicate the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, when a TTP splinter group killed 154 people, mostly children.
Wider context
The attacks come amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a fragile truce along the border and stalled peace negotiations. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif renewed an offer of talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban government in a televised address following the collapse of recent peace negotiations in Istanbul. Officials warned that the cease-fire brokered by Qatar and Turkey could unravel, potentially sparking fresh cross-border clashes.
Tensions spiked last month after Afghanistan accused Pakistan of drone strikes on Oct. 9 that killed several people in Kabul and led to cross-border clashes that left dozens dead before a cease-fire was brokered on Oct. 19. Subsequent talks in Istanbul made little progress after Kabul declined to provide written assurances that Afghan soil would not be used to launch attacks against Pakistan.
The incidents underscore Pakistan’s deteriorating security environment and the complex regional dynamics involving the Afghan Taliban, the TTP and other militant groups.
Associated Press reporting contributed to this story.