At least 31 people were killed and more than 160 others injured after a suicide bomber struck an imambargah in Islamabad’s Tarlai area during Friday prayers, officials confirmed.
Police said the attacker targeted Imambargah Khadijat-ul-Kubra and detonated explosives after being intercepted by security personnel at the entrance.
Witnesses reported that an exchange of gunfire took place as guards attempted to stop the suspect before the blast.
According to preliminary investigations, the assailant reached the main gate of the imambargah, where he was confronted by security guards. Despite resistance, he managed to move several metres inside the premises and detonated the explosives while prayers were in progress. The powerful blast caused severe damage to the three-storey building and nearby houses, shattering windows in surrounding residential units. Several security guards sustained injuries during the initial firing.
Following the attack, police, Pakistan Army personnel, and Rangers cordoned off the area, while rescue teams rushed the dead and injured to hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon announced that an emergency had been declared at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic Hospital, and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Hospital. Assistant commissioners were deployed to oversee medical arrangements.
Pims officials said the hospital received at least 18 bodies and over 78 injured persons, noting that the facility had reached full capacity. Due to the strain on medical resources, several wounded victims were transferred to other hospitals, including Rawalpindi’s Benazir Bhutto Hospital, where one of the injured later died.
Security forces have launched search and clearance operations in and around the area as part of broader counterterrorism measures.
The attack was widely condemned by government leaders, who expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and extended condolences to the families of the victims.