A suicide bombing outside the district court buildings in Islamabad on Tuesday (November 11) killed at least 12 people, officials confirmed. The attack, claimed by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has once again exposed the deep security crisis facing the country.

The TTP, a banned militant group with a long history of deadly attacks inside Pakistan, said it carried out the blast. Witnesses reported that the explosion shook nearby areas and caused panic across the capital city.

Soon after the attack, top Pakistani leaders blamed neighbouring countries instead of acknowledging internal security lapses. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called it “India’s state-sponsored terrorism”, accusing New Delhi of being behind the blast.

His comments came months after India’s Operation Sindoor, which reportedly targeted terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) through precision strikes. Around the same time, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Masood Ilyas was seen addressing a crowd in Bahawalpur, claiming that the Masood Azhar family was “torn into pieces” during those strikes.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also reacted strongly, calling the incident a sign of ongoing conflict.

“We are in a state of war,” he said, adding that “the rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan.”

Taking to his official X account, Asif wrote, “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.”

He further stated, “In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul. The rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan, but bringing this war all the way to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which Pakistan has the full strength to respond.”

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also spoke to reporters, saying the bombing was “carried out by Indian-backed elements and Afghan Taliban proxies.”

The deadly blast and the government’s reaction come amid growing tensions between Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. While the TTP has admitted to the bombing, Pakistan’s leaders continue to shift blame externally, raising fresh concerns about how the country plans to tackle the rising wave of militancy.