Over 70 killed in suicide bombing at Shia shrine in Pakistan's capital

A massive explosion on Friday rocked Pakistan’s Islamabad, following which a state of emergency was declared in the city, said the police, adding that the incident claimed over 70 lives and left more than 250 people injured. The blast, suspected to be a suicide bombing, occurred at Tarlai Imambargah in the Shehzad Town area of Islamabad.

The explosion happened at a Shia shrine after Friday prayers, killing at least 70 people. The injured have been shifted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Polyclinic Hospital for treatment. A rescue operation is currently underway and security forces have arrived at the spot.

No group has claimed responsibility of the attack. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned



the blast. In a statement, his office said that the prime minister has expressed "deep grief" and "strongly condemned" the blast.

The suicide bombing has happened in Islamabad at a time when Pakistani forces have launched a massive operation, named Radd-ul-Fitna-1, in its Balochistan province. In the operation that was launched on January 26, the Pakistani forces have neutralised as many as 216 Baloch rebels. However, the operation also claimed the lives of 22 security personnel and 36 civilians.

Balochistan borders Iran and Afghanistan, and an insurgency has been going on there since long. The Baloch groups want independence and have been targeting Pakistani forces and projects related to the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).