• Govt says cell involved in Tuesday’s suicide bombing busted
• Claims the network ‘guided at every step’ by Afghanistan-based TTP leadership

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Friday it had arrested four members of a cell over this week’s suicide bombing in Islamabad, which the government said was led from Afghanistan.

The Tuesday attack outside court buildings was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Those arrested in connection with the bombing, which killed 12 people and wounded dozens, were linked to the TTP according to Islamabad.

“The network was handled and guided at every step by the… high command based in Afghanistan,” a government statement said, adding that the cell’s alleged commander and three other members were in custody.

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“Investigations are continuing, and more revelations and arrests are expected,” it said, identifying the bomber as Usman alias Qari, a resident of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.

The government did not detail where the arrests were made.

Earlier on Thursday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told the Senate that the bomber was Afghan. Islamabad has largely been spared major militant violence in recent years, with the last suicide attack occurring in December 2022.

But the country is facing a resurgence of violence, which officials attribute mainly to armed groups allegedly sheltered on Afghan soil.

Mr Naqvi on Monday claimed that Afghan nationals also took part in an assault this week on Cadet College Wana.

The Taliban government has not commented on Pakistan’s allegations, but has expressed “deep sorrow and condemnation” over both attacks.

The accusations come amid a sharp deterioration in ties between Islamabad and Kabul, with recent attacks prompting the worst cross-border clashes in years last month.

More than 70 people were killed, including dozens of Afghan civilians, according to the UN.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2025