Security forces stand guard as members of the media film from a coordinated area following a deadly explosion at a Shiite Muslim mosque, in Islamabad, Pakistan, February 7, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani authorities have arrested relatives of the suicide bomber who carried out the deadly attack on an imambargah in Islamabad’s Tarlai area, as security agencies launched operations across the country, intelligence sources said.
According to the sources, the suicide bomber’s brother-in-law was arrested in Karachi, while his brother was taken into custody in Peshawar. A key facilitator linked to the attack was killed during an operation in Nowshera.
The most important arrest, according to sources, was that of the suicide bomber’s mother, who was arrested at a house in an upscale neighborhood of Islamabad. Intelligence agencies said operations were underway across the country to dismantle the network behind the attack.
At least 32 people were killed and around 169 others injured when a suicide bomber struck Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra during Friday prayers, according to authorities and hospital officials. The blast, accompanied by blasts and gunfire, occurred as worshipers were gathering for Jumma prayers.
Also read: Bomber identified as Peshawar resident “trained in Afghanistan”
The attack was the deadliest in Islamabad in more than a decade and the deadliest in the country since the Peshawar mosque bombing in January 2023.
Investigators identified the attacker as Yasir Khan, a resident of Peshawar, who had visited Afghanistan several times and received training there. According to preliminary information shared by sources close to the investigation, he remained in Afghanistan for approximately five months before returning to Pakistan.
“He received training at the Mansoor Istashhadi training center in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunar province and traveled to and from the country several times,” sources said. The Express PK Press Club.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry confirmed that the suicide bomber had been identified. “He is not an Afghan citizen, but forensic examination of the remaining parts of his body provided information on the number of times he traveled to Afghanistan,” he said.
State broadcaster PTV News said on
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif echoed the claims, blaming what he described as an “India-Afghanistan nexus” for the Imambargah attack. In an article on X, he said it had been established that the attacker had traveled to and from Afghanistan and evidence was emerging of links between India and the Taliban.
He called the perpetrators “enemies of both religion and the nation” and said the state would respond with full force.
