Pakistan Detains Four Allegedly Linked to Afghan-Based Cell After Deadly Islamabad Suicide Bombing

Four detained in connection with Islamabad court suicide bombing

Pakistan says it has arrested four men linked to an Afghan-based cell suspected of carrying out a suicide bombing outside a district court in Islamabad that killed 12 people and wounded dozens. The attack, which occurred on Tuesday, was claimed by a faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamabad said.

A government statement on Friday said the network was "handled and guided at every step by the high command based in Afghanistan" and that the cell's alleged commander and three other members are now in custody. Investigations are ongoing and officials said more arrests and disclosures are expected.

Authorities identified the suicide attacker as Usman, also known as Qari, a resident of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told the Senate that the bomber was Afghan, according to official briefings.

Alleged chain of command and border links

One suspect, Sajid Ullah, reportedly told investigators that Saeed-ur-Rehman, a Pakistan Taliban commander also known as Daadullah, ordered the Islamabad operation via the Telegram messaging app. Government sources say Daadullah sent photos of the bomber and instructed Ullah to receive him after he crossed the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

Islamabad said Daadullah, originally from Pakistan's Bajaur region, is part of the Pakistan Taliban's intelligence wing and is currently hiding in Afghanistan. The four suspects were detained in a joint operation by Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau and the Counter-Terrorism Department; officials did not specify the locations of the arrests.

Rising tensions and recent violence

Islamabad has seen relatively little such violence in recent years; the last suicide attack in the capital occurred in December 2022. Officials say violence is resurging and largely blame armed groups allegedly sheltered on Afghan soil.

Separately this week, attackers stormed Cadet College Wana, a military-linked school in northwest Pakistan, triggering a nearly 20-hour gunbattle in which three soldiers and all the attackers were killed. Naqvi told lawmakers that Afghan nationals were involved in that assault.

Response from Kabul and militants

The Taliban administration in Kabul has not directly responded to Pakistan's specific allegations but issued statements expressing deep sorrow and condemnation over both attacks. Representatives of the Pakistan Taliban did not comment on the arrests.

The arrests come amid a sharp deterioration in ties between Islamabad and Kabul after recent cross-border clashes last month — described by the United Nations as the worst in years — that killed more than 70 people, including dozens of Afghan civilians. The two countries agreed to a fragile ceasefire but failed to finalise its terms after several rounds of talks, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.

Addressing parliament, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called the Islamabad bombing a 'horrific act of terrorism' and reiterated Pakistan's desire for peace while insisting Afghanistan must act to rein in militants operating from its soil.