Daesh-linked Afghan mastermind of Islamabad imambargah attack in custody: Mohsin Naqvi
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday. — SCREENGRAB
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced on Saturday that the mastermind of the attack on an Islamabad imambargah was under custody.
At least 32 people were killed and around 169 others injured when a suicide bomber struck Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra during Friday prayers, according to authorities and hospital officials. The blast occurred as worshippers gathered for Jumma prayers and was accompanied by explosions and gunfire.
The attack was the deadliest in Islamabad in more than a decade and the deadliest nationwide since the Peshawar mosque bombing in January 2023.
Earlier today, security sources said that Pakistani authorities arrested four facilitators and an Afghan mastermind linked to the Islamic State (Daesh). Intelligence and law enforcement agencies carried out raids in Peshawar and Nowshera, arresting the four facilitators of the suicide bomber. The operations were conducted on the basis of technical and human intelligence.
The security officials said the Afghan mastermind of the attack, linked to Daesh, was also arrested. They said the planning, training and indoctrination of the attacker were carried out by Daesh in Afghanistan. The sources alleged that under the patronage of the Afghan Taliban, Daesh and other terrorist organisations posed a serious threat to regional and global peace. During the operations, one security personnel was killed and three others were injured, the sources said.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after a high-level security meeting, the interior minister confirmed the arrests and said one police personnel was martyred while three were injured.
Naqvi described Friday as a “black day” for the country and provided updates on the investigation and arrests following the deadly Islamabad blast.
“Following the blast, all our agencies went out on the lead. Operations continued throughout the night. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police have arrested almost all individuals linked to the attack or the masterminds behind it,” he said.
He congratulated the CTD and K-P police teams for their efforts.
“Immediately after the blast, a raid was conducted in Nowshera and Peshawar, and four facilitators were arrested. The ISIS mastermind, an Afghan national, has also been captured. During the raid, one assistant sub-inspector from the K-P police was martyred. The main mastermind is linked to ISIS and is in our custody,” Naqvi said.
The interior minister said that the network behind the blast was trained in Afghanistan and that authorities had gathered intelligence on the suspects before the attack.
“All the planning for this incident took place in Afghanistan, where they were trained. We had information regarding them. We did not expect to apprehend them so quickly, but our agencies did an excellent job,” he said.
Naqvi added that the entire Islamic State network in Pakistan had been dismantled and accused external actors of financing the group.
including the Afghan ISIS mastermind behind the attack. Evidence confirms that planning, training, and indoctrination were carried out in Afghanistan by ISIS. The nexus of terrorism under Afghan Taliban patronage remains a serious threat to regional peace.
“This network has been completely captured. These people operate for money. Community intelligence is very important for us, and we need to work on it. I can say with confidence that if one attack happens, we stop 99,” he said.
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The interior minister said that India was funding Islamic State operations in Pakistan, providing targets and financial support in dollars.
“All their funding is coming from India. They are providing them targets and putting them on the front line. We are carrying coffins today. When this war reaches the rest of the world tomorrow, then the world will realise it — and they will say that India was behind all this. Since May, India has tripled its budget, everything costs money, and terrorists are receiving funds in dollars,” he said.
He added that it is now their duty to take this issue to every international platform and that he plans to brief Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on the matter.
Naqvi criticised the use of videos by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militant group to project a false image of Pakistan’s security situation.
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“The BLA regularly makes videos, and then an incident occurs. Afterwards, these videos are circulated on the Indian media. No one asks them why they are running BLA videos. They have created an entire system,” he said.
Naqvi said the videos were intended to give the impression that terrorists had control over Pakistan — a claim he rejected.
“They want to show that Pakistan is overrun by terrorists. There is no truth in that. They carry out attacks and then flee like cowards. When there is war, categories do not matter. When there is war, it is war,” he said.
He called on the public to understand the realities of security challenges.
“We will continue to fight this war, but the world must understand that this threat is becoming regional. If the world remains silent and this war spreads further, the consequences will be severe,” he added.
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On a question, Naqvi said, “Pointing fingers is very easy. All the planning was carried out from Afghanistan. I wish I could tell you what our security agencies need, but I am not able to provide that. You are saying that 75 per cent of the budget is allocated — that is not the case.”
“The war has moved to a different level. The terrorists are using American weapons and have access to American technology, but we do not. We are upgrading our forces, but we cannot do it as quickly due to financial constraints,” he added.
Federal ministers had pinned the blame for yesterday's incident on Afghanistan and India right away.
However, India's foreign ministry had rejected the allegations while Afghanistan had issued a strong denunciation of the attack.
Pakistan’s allegations against Afghanistan, India of supporting terrorism
Pakistan has repeatedly pointed to an Afghanistan–India nexus behind terrorism in the country.
In November 2024, Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had issued a warning that the Afghan regime was a threat not just to Pakistan but to the entire region and the world, citing the abandonment of $7.2 billion worth of American military equipment during the US withdrawal.
Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated that the Afghan regime was harbouring “Non-State Actors” who posed a threat to various countries in the region, noting the Taliban’s failure to establish an inclusive state and government post-2021. He stressed that Pakistan's issue was with the Afghan Taliban regime, not the Afghan people.
Read More: Afghan regime poses threat to region, world: DG ISPR
After the conflict with India in May 2025, Field Marshal Asim Munir had said that Pakistan would never be coerced, and that all inimical designs to derail the country's counterterrorism efforts would be “comprehensively defeated”.
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He had said Pakistan’s military remained prepared to respond across the full spectrum of conflict. He particularly criticised India’s growing tendency to resort to unprovoked military aggression, cautioning that strategic stability in South Asia was increasingly fragile and hinged on justice, especially in Kashmir.
After recent terrorist attacks in Balochistan, Naqvi had once again blamed India for a coordinated terror campaign in the province.
“These were not ordinary terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you for certain that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists,” he said.
He added that authorities would pursue every individual involved, as well as those directing them from behind the scenes.
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Naqvi further claimed that India was the “main country” behind terrorism, saying it not only provides financial support to terrorists but also assists them in planning and strategising.
In 2023, a UN report also revealed that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had established a new base in K-P in mid-2023. The report shed light on close ties not only between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban but also with anti-Pakistani groups and al Qaeda.
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The report further revealed that some Taliban members had also joined the TTP, perceiving it as a religious obligation to provide support.
Interlocutors reported that TTP members and their families received regular aid packages from the Taliban.
Importantly, the UN report noted a significant increase in Afghan nationals in the TTP ranks. This supported Pakistan’s stance that a growing number of Afghan nationals were involved in suicide attacks in the country.