'Facilitator, handler' involved in Islamabad suicide attack arrested

• Facilitator lived in Pindi for a month before attack: sources.
• Sources say handler arrested from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Suicide blast killed 12, injured 36 at Judicial Complex.

Security agencies have arrested two key suspects, a handler and a facilitator, in connection with the suicide bombing outside Islamabad’s Judicial Complex situated in G-11 area, sources said on Thursday, as the investigation into the deadly attack inched forward.

The sources said that the facilitator, living in Rawalpindi for the past month, was arrested from Pindi while the handler was detained from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The suicide explosion targeted the Islamabad District Judicial Complex, leaving 12 people martyred and at least 36 wounded. The victims included lawyers and petitioners who came to the court.

Before the attack, the facilitator and the suicide bomber visited the Judicial Complex several times to survey the area, the sources said.

The suspects have been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation, they added.

The latest development comes a day after police arrested the motorcyclist who transported the suicide bomber to the District Judicial Complex in Islamabad's G-11 area ahead of Tuesday's deadly blast.

Police said the attacker blew himself up as he approached a police vehicle, setting nearby cars ablaze and scattering debris across the area.

The rider — employed with an online service — dropped the attacker near the court, also known as G-11 kachehri, for a fare of Rs200, police sources told Geo News.

They also said that efforts are continuing to track the bomber's movements from Golra to the G-11 sector via Safe City cameras.

'Afghan national involved in Islamabad attack'

A day earlier, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that the suicide bomber who attacked the Islamabad court premises and killed a dozen people was an Afghan national.

“I can confirm that the attacker was an Afghan national [...] Pakistan is a responsible state and does not blame others needlessly,” the minister said on Geo News’ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath”.

The deadly blast outside the district court buildings on Tuesday killed 12 and injured more than 30 people, with the district court remaining closed today, and security was stepped up at other court buildings across the city.

“The attacker was neither Pakistani nor did he know the Pakistani language. He did not even have an idea about Pakistani currency,” the state minister mentioned.

Chaudhry, saying that he could not provide further details as it could hamper the investigation, noted that based on concrete evidence, Pakistan blamed India and Afghanistan for attack in the country.

The blast took place on the same day that Pakistani forces cleared Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan, killing all Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists who had infiltrated the educational institutions.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that Pakistan could carry out strikes inside Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks in Islamabad and South Waziristan.

Rising terrorism

Pakistan has been grappling with rising terror incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban regime took power in 2021.

Since then, terrorists have carried out hundreds of cross-border terror attacks in Pakistan, leading to the martyrdom of soldiers and countless civilians, including women and children.

During the first eight months of 2025, KP alone recorded over 600 terror incidents, resulting in the martyrdom of at least 138 civilians and 79 police personnel.

Pakistan has long urged the Afghan Taliban regime to prevent its soil from being used to launch attacks inside Pakistan. The cross-border terrorism also resulted in tense border clashes between forces from the two neighbouring countries in October.

Following the clashes, a ceasefire had been reached; however, talks have failed.