Facilitators of Islamabad mosque attacker arrested: Minister
- Last updated: February 7, 2026 | 22:17 ..
Pakistan's Minister of Interior Moshin Naqvi said on Saturday that authorities had arrested four people believed to have helped the suicide bomber who killed 36 people at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad on Friday.
Naqvi said in a press conference, that the four people, including the believed mastermind, had been arrested following raids in Peshawar and Nowshera.
A police officer was killed and a constable was injured during a raid in Hakeemabad, Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which was conducted in connection with the ongoing investigation to arrest those involved in Friday's Islamabad Imambargah suicide bombing, officials said.
Meanwhile, the death toll from the terrorist attack rose to 36 on Saturday, a spokesperson at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said.
The announcement by Mohsin Naqvi came a day after a regional affiliate of Daesh group claimed responsibility in a statement carried by its Amaq News Agency.
The statement said the attacker on Friday opened fire on security guards who tried to stop him at the main gate before detonating his explosive vest after reaching the mosque’s inner gate.
The Daesh group suggested it viewed the Pakistani Shiites as legitimate targets, calling them a "human reservoir” that provided recruits to Shiite militias fighting Daesh in Syria.
Naqvi described the suspected mastermind of the bombing as an Afghan linked to Daesh. He alleged the attack was planned and the bomber trained in Afghanistan with financial backing from India- claims for which he provided no immediate evidence.
There was no immediate comment from New Delhi and Kabul.
Naqvi also alleged that several militant groups were operating from the Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan and urged the international community to take notice, warning that instability could spread beyond the region.
Addressing public concerns about security lapses, he said, "If one blast happens, 99 others are being foiled as well.”
THOUSANDS ATTEND FUNERAL
Earlier, more than 2,000 grief-stricken mourners gathered as coffins of those killed were brought to the same mosque for funerals of about a dozen victims, joined by Shiite community leaders and senior government officials. Funerals of other victims were to be held in their hometowns.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif told reporters Friday that the attack signaled that Pakistan-based militants operating from Afghanistan could strike even in the capital. His remarks drew a sharp response from Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
In a statement, Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry condemned the mosque attack in Islamabad but said the Pakistani defence minister had "irresponsibly” linked it to Afghanistan.
'GRATEFUL FOR MESSAGES OF SYMPATHY'
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said he was grateful for the messages of sympathy and support received "from across the globe” following what he called the "heart-wrenching suicide attack in Islamabad.” He said international support remained critical to Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Although Pakistan's capital has seen relatively few attacks compared with other regions, the country has experienced a recent rise in militant violence. Much of it has been blamed on Baloch