Key points
- Attack outside Islamabad court kills 12
- UN urges full investigation into attack
- 36 people wounded in Islamabad suicide bombing
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Tuesday’s deadly suicide attack in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the reported suicide attack, and he extends his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a full recovery to those injured,” Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Aziz Haq said in response to a question at the regular noon briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
“The Secretary-General condemns acts of violence and terrorism in the strongest terms,” the spokesperson said, reiterating that all perpetrators of terrorism must be held accountable.
Full investigation
The UN chief called for a full investigation into the attack, which took place outside the district and sessions court building in Islamabad’s G-11 area, killing 12 people and wounding 36.
Officials confirmed that the attacker’s severed head was recovered from the blast site, leaving no doubt that a suicide bomber was involved. The explosion ripped through outside the Judicial complex, home to several district courts and offices, shattering windows and setting parked vehicles ablaze.
Police said the suicide bomber detonated his suicide vest at the main entrance of the complex. The blast was powerful enough to be heard kilometres away, including at the Police Lines Headquarters, with thick smoke rising over the capital.
