World

Thousands gather as Pakistan buries blast victims

Published: 04:02 PM,Feb 07,2026 | EDITED : 08:02 PM,Feb 07,2026

Mourners sit behind barbed wires as they watch the funeral of Shiite Muslims, a day after a suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad on February 7, 2026. Funerals took place on February 7, for some of the victims of a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and wounded scores more during Friday prayers. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)
 
Mourners sit behind barbed wires as they watch the funeral of Shiite Muslims, a day after a suicide bombing at a mosque in Islamabad on February 7, 2026. Funerals took place on February 7, for some of the victims of a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan's capital Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and wounded scores more during Friday prayers. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

ISLAMABAD: Thousands gathered on Saturday for the funerals of victims of a bombing at a mosque that killed 31 people and wounded 169 others in Pakistan's capital. Friday's attack, which was claimed by the IS group, was the deadliest in Islamabad since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing. The death toll was expected to rise. Tearful mourners gathered at locations across Islamabad to bury the dead.
Officials including a senior police officer in Pakistan's northwest said on Saturday that some of the bomber's relatives had been arrested. The officer, who did not give his name, said the attacker was from Peshawar, the capital of the violence-racked western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and that some of his relatives had been living in Nowshera on the road to the capital for several years.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the blast and vowed that those responsible would be found and brought to justice. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar branded it 'a heinous crime against humanity and a blatant violation of Islamic principles.' — AFP