Suicide bombing or gas blast? Twelve killed or 12 injured? Confusion over the Islamabad court explosion on Tuesday deepened amid conflicting statements from Pakistan.
Police said there were no fatalities and that the incident was caused by a gas leak in the court’s basement canteen, while Reuters quoted the country’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi as saying that at least 12 people had been killed in a suicide bombing.
Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said the blast occurred at around 10:55am, injuring 12 people, including maintenance staff. “A gas blast occurred at a canteen in the basement of the Supreme Court building,” Rizvi told Pakistani media, adding that no traces of explosives were found at the site.
Rizvi told the reporters that the condition of two of the injured was “serious” who had sustained 80 per cent and 30 per cent burns. “The rest suffered minor injuries, most of which are burn injuries.”
Of the injured, nine were taken to the Polyclinic Hospital and three to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
The explosion sent shockwaves through the Supreme Court complex, disrupting ongoing proceedings and prompting an urgent evacuation of judges, lawyers, and staff.
Videos circulated on social media and carried by Dawn showed damaged interiors, broken glass, and bloodstains on the floor, while crowds of people gathered outside the building.
Police, bomb disposal experts, and rescue teams arrived at the scene shortly after the incident.
Rizvi said the initial probe pointed to a gas leak that had been reported for several days in the canteen and a nearby tea room.
“Initial probe revealed that there had been complaints of gas leakage in the canteen located in the basement and a tea room for around the past three days. Plumbers and technicians who work at the Supreme Court were looking into those,” he said.
Rizvi further stated that there was considerable leakage in the canteen today as well. Meanwhile, two of the air conditioners in the canteen were not working properly, he added.
“Technicians were repairing them, during which gas accumulated […] and a blast occurred.”
The IG said among the injured, the technicians repairing the air conditioners were most affected.
