ISLAMABAD: The death toll from the Islamabad imambargah attack rose to 36 on Saturday, according to hospital officials.

The attack occurred at Imambargah Qasr-i-Khadijatul Kubra in the Tarlai area on the city’s outskirts during Friday prayers. Over 160 others were injured, with the death toll expected to rise.

“A 21-year-old man who was brought from the imambargah has died,” Dr Aneeza Jalil, a spokesperson at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), confirmed to Dawn.

“The number of deaths has reached 33, and nine patients are in very serious condition,” she added.

She recalled that 149 injured and 28 bodies were brought to Pims on Friday following the attack.

Separately, HBS Hospital’s Dr Riaz Janjua confirmed to Dawn that three deaths from the attack were reported at his hospital.

Great progress in probe: info minister

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar held a press conference in Islamabad with various religious scholars, including Allama Muhammad Hussain Akbar.

“There has been progress to a great extent regarding his (terrorist’s) facilitators, and I do not want to go into much detail but I assure you that the net around them has been tightened and they will be taken to justice,” Tarar said.

“We have gotten clues about the facilitators and handlers, and the public will soon be informed about the details,” he further said.

“It is clear about him (the terrorist) that he went to Afghanistan for training,” Tarar said, declaring that Pakistan will not allow attacks on it from Afghan soil.

“These are the same people who have no faith or religion, who shed Muslims’ blood for a few pennies,” he added.

At another point, the information minister said the bomber had been identified, based on which further investigation was under way.

Asked whether the incident was an “intelligence failure”, the information minister reiterated that the terrorists’ ability to attack “hard targets” had been eliminated, so they attempted to reach “soft targets”.

He added, “Security and law enforcement agencies are definitely on alert. But obviously, sometimes they get access and successfully carry out activities in far-flung areas.

“But rest assured, all of the handlers and those involved in this have nearly been traced, and punishment will be meted out to them.”

Asked whether the blast was a “failure of security agencies”, Tarar asserted, “No, not at all.”

Recalling the rehabilitation efforts during former premier Imran Khan’s government, he said, “The PTI is behind this resurgence of terrorism.”

On the question of possible action against officials for any negligence, the information minister affirmed that the Islamabad police were performing their duties to the best, even in “tough situations”.

The minister said he was paying a visit to the scholars to express solidarity over the terrorist incident. “Calling those responsible for it human is an insult to humanity,” he asserted, noting that terrorists have no religion or faith or community.

“On behalf of the state of Pakistan and the prime minister, I assure them that the government is taking great steps for the protection of mosques, imambargahs and such centres,” Tarar said, vowing to further improve the measures.

Recalling his conversation with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Tarar stressed, “While steps are being taken for security and more will be taken, the main aim is to root out these terrorists.”

He stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had met with Naqvi on Friday and issued “necessary directives”.

Highlighting that Muslims were targeted during Friday prayers at the imambargah, Tarar said, “We will pursue them where they cannot even think of […] under no circumstance will we let you see any peace.”

He further said, “They are khawarij, and Pakistan’s good lies only in their eradication.”

The information minister also underscored that the country was united in the fight against terrorism, pointing out the efforts of the National Paigham-i-Aman Committee (NPAC).

“We have reached out with the message of peace. There is no space for sectarianism and hatred in this. We all are muslims,” Tarar said, noting that NPAC’s objective was to counter the terrorists’ narrative and ideology.

He pointed out that the committee had religious scholars from various sects and also had representation from minorities, including the Christian, Hindu and Sikh communities.

“Due to this grief and sadness, our aim to eradicate you (terrorists) has only increased,” the minister said, affirming that scholars from all sects stood united.

In his remarks, Allama Akbar said he has requested that security at imambargahs and mosques be heightened and solidarity be shown with the victims.

“Especially, action against those who make speeches through various media channels and newspapers, [and] those who are part of banned outfits and make inciteful speeches, is extremely necessary because they are also their (terrorists’) facilitators and backers,” he said.

Emphasising the need for intensified security, he demanded that an impartial judicial probe be launched into the incident.

The scholar said the Islamabad blast was “one branch of the conspiracies being carried out against Pakistan on the global level to destabilise the country”.

“Our two western provinces in particular are on their target,” he pointed out.

“Especially at this time, the alliances being formed between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye and Pakistan are a source of joy and courage for us, but for the enemy, they are a message of death, which is also why the enemy is more active against us,” Allama Akbar said.

Victims laid to rest

Separately, funerals took place on Saturday for some of the victims of the suicide blast.

A mass funeral for 13 victims was held in the federal capital, with a large crowd in attendance, including religious scholars from various sects.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf and NA Standing Committee for Interior Affairs Chairman Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz also attended the prayers.

Separately, in-absentia funeral prayers for 32 individuals were offered in Tarlai under strict security arrangements, with the bereaved relatives and civil society members present.

Politicians, including Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and PPP’s Nadeem Afzal Chan, also attended the prayers.

Funerals for another two victims were held at Imambargah Jamia Sadiq, and for three others at an imambargah in Islamabad’s G-9.

Inspector Bahadur Ali, who hailed from Gilgit-Baltistan and was martyred in the attack, was also laid to rest with full honours at the Police Lines Headquarters in Islamabad on Friday night.

Senior police officers, including Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, attended the funeral. The body was later dispatched to his native area with full state honours.

Friday’s attack was the deadliest in the federal capital since September 2008, when 60 people were killed in a suicide truck bomb blast that destroyed part of the five-star Marriott hotel.

“The attacker was stopped at the gate and detonated himself,” a security source told AFP about the imambargah blast.

Muhammad Kazim, 52, said an “extremely powerful” explosion ripped through the building as prayers were just starting.

Another worshipper, Imran Mahmood, told AFP there was a gunfight between the bomber and volunteer security personnel at the mosque.

“The suicide attacker was trying to move forward, but one of our injured volunteers fired at him from behind, hitting him in the thigh,” he told AFP.

He then “detonated the explosives”, Mahmood added.

Suicide bomber’s identity

Sources close to the investigation told Dawn that the attacker — whose severed head was found at the crime scene — had been identified as a resident of Gunj, in the walled city of Peshawar. They said that forensic investigators tracked his identity through the Nadra database.

Preliminary investigation suggested that he was linked to the militant Islamic State (IS) group and had travelled to Afghanistan multiple times.

The Peshawar police were also being approached to interrogate the family and relatives of the suicide bomber and collect other relevant details.

Investigators said that all angles were being probed in this regard, and geo-fencing of the area was being conducted to identify other suspects.

Authorities were conducting forensic sweeps of the crime scene, while CCTV footage from nearby cameras had been obtained to track the attackers.

When approached, a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police official told Dawn that they were making a lot of progress in the investigation.

Another source said that raids were being conducted, and that some of the suspected bomber’s relatives had been picked up in Nowshera.

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Additional input from AFP