‘Wake-Up Call’: Khawaja Asif Says Pakistan ‘In State Of War’ After Islamabad Suicide Blast

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif (Image: AP/file)

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday described the deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad as a “wake-up call” for the country, warning that Pakistan was now “in a state of war”.

The statement came hours after a suicide attacker detonated explosives near the district court buildings in the capital, killing at least 12 people and injuring 27 others.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack — the first such bombing in the city in nearly two years.

“We are in a state of war,” Asif wrote on X. “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.”

He added that it would be “futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul”, suggesting that Islamabad’s patience with Afghanistan’s Taliban government was running thin.

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. 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 — a claim Kabul denies.

(With inputs from AFP)