Death toll from Islamabad imambargah attack rises to 33, probe reveals suicide bomber’s links 

Islamabad (Web Desk): The toll from the suicide bombing at an imambargah in Islamabad rose to 33 on Saturday as investigators expanded their probe and rounded up several suspects linked to the attacker.

Security officials said close relatives of the suicide bomber had been arrested as part of intensified intelligence-based operations across the country.

The attacker, identified as Yasir Khan from Peshawar, had remained in contact with his brother-in-law, Usman, according to intelligence sources. Yasir’s two brothers, Bilal and Nasir, along with Usman, were taken into custody from the Tarnab Farm area.

Earlier, authorities confirmed that one of the bomber’s brothers had been detained in Peshawar, while his brother-in-law was arrested during related operations. Investigators also disclosed that a key facilitator involved in the planning of the attack was killed during a security operation in Nowshera.

Intelligence officials described the arrest of Yasir Khan’s mother as one of the most significant developments in the case. She was apprehended from a house located in an upscale sector of Islamabad.

Officials said coordinated operations were under way nationwide to trace and dismantle the militant network responsible for the attack.

Investigators have since reconstructed the bomber’s movements in the months before the incident. 
According to intelligence sources, Yasir travelled to Afghanistan in May and returned to Pakistan in June. He then went to Bajaur later that month, where he activated a SIM card.

From June 27 until October, he stayed in Bajaur before relocating to Hakeemabad in Nowshera. Police officials said he carried out reconnaissance of the targeted imambargah on February 2, only days before the suicide attack.

At least 33 people were killed and around 169 others sustained injuries when the bomber struck Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra during Friday prayers, authorities and hospital officials said.

The explosion, accompanied by further blasts and gunfire, occurred as worshippers had gathered for Jumma prayers.

Officials termed the incident the deadliest attack in Islamabad in more than a decade and the most lethal nationwide since the Peshawar mosque bombing in January 2023.

Investigators said Yasir Khan had travelled to Afghanistan multiple times and received militant training there. Preliminary findings indicated he spent about five months in Afghanistan before returning to Pakistan.

Funeral prayers for the victims began on Saturday amid tight security. A joint funeral for 13 victims was held in the federal capital, drawing a large crowd that included religious scholars from different sects.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf and National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior Affairs Chairman Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz were among those in attendance.

Separately, funeral prayers in absentia for 32 individuals were offered in Tarlai under strict security arrangements, with bereaved families and civil society representatives present. Political figures, including Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Nadeem Afzal Chan, also joined the prayers.

Additional funerals were held for two victims at Imambargah Jamia Sadiq, while three others were laid to rest after prayers at an imambargah in Islamabad’s G-9 sector.

Inspector Bahadur Ali, who belonged to Gilgit-Baltistan and was martyred in the attack, was buried with full honours at the Police Lines Headquarters in Islamabad on Friday night.

Senior police officers, including Islamabad Inspector General Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, attended the funeral, after which his body was sent to his native area with full state honours.

Authorities noted that Friday’s bombing was the most devastating attack in the federal capital since September 2008, when an earlier incident claimed 60 lives.