Pakistan finds itself embroiled in tense standoffs with both Afghanistan and India. In May, a brief four-day military engagement erupted with India, and more recently, Pakistan launched airstrikes within Afghanistan, including targets in Kabul, citing the presence of Pakistani militants as the provocation.

Militants from the Pakistani Taliban have increasingly targeted security forces in their assaults over the last few years.

A devastating bomb blast claimed the lives of 12 individuals, leaving numerous others injured. Source: AAP / Ahsan Shahzad / AP

Islamabad says that the Pakistani Taliban and other militants are based in Afghanistan, with the support of India.

“We are totally clear that Afghanistan has to stop them. In case of a failure, we have no option but to take care of those terrorists who are attacking our country,” interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said, speaking at the scene of the court bombing.

Naqvi said that the school assailants were in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan during the attack.

He said the authorities are investigating the backers of the court bombing, adding that an attack in Islamabad “carried a lot of messages”.

Remarkably, it had been a decade since civilians in Islamabad were directly impacted by such violence, according to data compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, an organization that monitors such incidents.

The Taliban administration in Kabul said in a statement that it “expresses its deep sorrow and condemnation” of the attacks.

A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Pakistan’s accusations.

Afghanistan denies that its territory is used for attacks on other countries.

The attacks in Pakistan came a day after an explosion in the Indian capital, which killed eight people.

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