UN agency calls child killing ‘unconscionable’ as authorities arrest five suspects linked to ISIS
Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at the site after a deadly explosion at an imambargah on the outskirts of Islamabad, February 6, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has condemned the deadly attack on an imambargah in Islamabad.
“UNICEF strongly condemns yesterday’s devastating attack on a place of worship in Islamabad, which reportedly claimed the lives of six children,” the organization said in a statement. “The killing of children is unacceptable and constitutes a serious violation of their rights.”
The UN agency expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the communities affected by the attack.
Read: 32 martyrs in Imambargah suicide attack in Islamabad; The government blames the “Indo-Afghan link”
UNICEF stressed that children should never be targets of violence. “No child should ever be a target or exposed to violence. Children must be protected at all times,” the statement said.
Friday’s attack on Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra was the deadliest in Islamabad in more than a decade and the deadliest in the country since the Peshawar mosque bombing in January 2023.
At least 32 people were killed and around 169 others injured when a suicide bomber struck the imambargah, according to authorities and hospital officials. The blast occurred as worshipers gathered for Jumma (Friday) prayers and was accompanied by explosions and gunfire.
On Saturday, Pakistani authorities made a breakthrough in the investigation into the attack, arresting four facilitators and an Afghan mastermind linked to the Islamic State (Daesh), security sources said.
Learn more: Four facilitators, masterminds of Daesh, detained during Imambargah suicide attack in Islamabad
According to investigators, the suicide bomber was identified as Yasir, a resident of Peshawar. His four facilitators were detained, including people who allegedly played a facilitator role in the Rawalpindi region.
Authorities had earlier said that Yasir’s two brothers, Bilal and Nasir, and his brother-in-law Usman were arrested in the Tarnab Farm area, while his mother was detained at a house in an upscale neighborhood of Islamabad.
