Police officers and rescue workers gather at the site of a suicide car bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan December 23, 2022. (WASEEM KHAN / REUTERS)
ISLAMABAD – The District Magistrate of Pakistan's capital Islamabad said on Friday that all public gatherings and meetings will be banned for two weeks in the city following a suicide attack in Islamabad's government district that left two people including an officer killed and eight others injured.
Militants thought to have been on the verge of carrying out a suicide bombing blew themselves up as police pursued their car.
The interior ministry said the vehicle had been heading for a high-value target in the capital, without giving details, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said timely intervention by the police had averted a "bloodbath".
The car exploded near police headquarters on a main road leading to a government sector where parliament and the offices of senior officials are located.
The bombing came two days after a Pakistani military operation killed 25 TTP militants after a standoff at a counter-terrorism facility
The Pakistani Taliban claimed the car bombing, saying it was revenge for the killing of one of their leaders.
"We take responsibility for the suicide attack against the enemy of Islam," said a statement from the militants known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of Sunni Islamist and sectarian groups.
The bombing came two days after a Pakistani military operation killed 25 TTP militants after a standoff at a counter-terrorism facility.
In a notification, Irfan Nawaz Memon, the district magistrate, as well as the deputy commissioner of Islamabad, said that in the light of recent advisories and threat alerts issued by the law enforcement agencies, and the attack on police, all kinds of corner meetings, gatherings and congregations in Islamabad will be prohibited for two weeks.
The security of the capital has been beefed up to obviate the threats which can disrupt peace and tranquility causing damage to life and property, but the likelihood of such activities cannot be ruled out in the coming days, he said.
"Thus immediate prevention and speedy remedy were required, and directions appearing were necessary to protect public life and property," the notification added.
A police officer stands inside cordoned-off area after a suicide car bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan Dec 23, 2022. (WASEEM KHAN / REUTERS)
Political meetings at public places for the local body elections to be held on Dec 31 have also been prohibited.
The capital was already on high alert due to threats of a high-profile attack, said Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. "Had the car reached its target, it would have caused heavy losses," he told Geo News TV.
Islamabad police chief Sohail Zafar said police gave chase after the car failed to stop at a checkpoint.
"As they chased it, the people inside the car blew it up," he said, adding that four police and two civilians were injured, he said.
TTP militants have been waging a campaign of bombings and suicide attacks for over a decade in a bid to run the country under a harsh brand of Islamic law. They have ramped up attacks after last month calling off a ceasefire brokered by the Afghan Taliban in May.
Pakistan's military has launched periodic offensives in regions along the Afghan border that have served as safe havens for Islamist militants.