The deadly suicide attack in Islamabad was a "wake-up call" for Pakistan, according to Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who said the country was now "in a state of war" on Tuesday.
Asif hinted that Islamabad was growing impatient with the Taliban government in Afghanistan after the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack, but he did not specify with whom Pakistan was in a "state of war." Kabul disputes Pakistan's accusation that the Afghan Taliban is providing sanctuary to the TTP.
"We are at war right now. The suicide strike at the Islamabad district courts today should serve as a wake-up call for everyone who believes that the Pakistan Army is engaged in combat in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the isolated regions of Balochistan:Asif posted on social media site X, "This is a war for all of Pakistan, in which the Pakistan Army is making daily sacrifices and making the people feel secure."
It would be "futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul," he continued.
The remark was made just hours after at least 12 people were killed and 27 injured in a suicide bombing near the district court buildings in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It was the city's first bombing of such kind in almost two years.

What the TTP claimed to be responsible for the bombing in Islamabad
The TTP claimed to have targeted "judges, lawyers, and officials" at the court complex for upholding what it described as Pakistan's "un-Islamic laws" and threatened to carry out other attacks until Islamic rule was established nationwide.
In recent months, there has been a significant increase in militant strikes in Pakistan, and authorities have blamed groups that operate from across the Afghan border.
The ministry of external affairs in New Delhi responded sharply to Pakistan's accusation that India was responsible for the strike on Tuesday.
Since devastating border confrontations in October that claimed over 70 lives, relations between Islamabad and Kabul have drastically worsened.

Pakistan continues to accuse Afghanistan of giving the TTP safe havens, and despite numerous rounds of negotiations, neither side has been able to reach a consensus on security measures.