Suicide bombings in Pakistan were carried out by Afghan nationals, claims Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told parliament on Thursday, during a televised session, that both suicide bombers involved in this week’s attacks were carried out by Afghan nationals, according to Al Jazeera.

On Wednesday, a suicide attacker detonated explosives at the entrance of Islamabad’s District Judicial Complex, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 30, several of them critically.

Punjab’s Counter-Terrorism Department in Rawalpindi mentioned that seven suspects linked to the Islamabad bombing were arrested. According to the Dawn newspaper, the suspects were picked up in raids in Rawalpindi’s Fauji Colony and Dhoke Kashmirian, with another operation carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Al Jazeera report noted.

A second suicide bombing occurred on Monday at a college in South Waziristan, KP.

The Cadet College, located close to the Afghan frontier, was attacked when a vehicle packed with explosives crashed into its main entrance. Police said two attackers were killed at the gate, while three others managed to breach the premises.

Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly tense in recent years. Islamabad claims that militants hiding on the Afghan side of the border have been carrying out assaults in Pakistan, an allegation Kabul rejects, according to Al Jazeera.

Just last month, deadly border clashes between the two nations left numerous soldiers and several civilians dead.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan may launch strikes inside Afghanistan following the attacks this week, saying the country was "in a state of war".

"Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today's suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call," he said.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have risen sharply since last month, after Afghanistan accused Islamabad of carrying out Oct. 9 drone strikes that killed several people in Kabul. The incident triggered cross-border fighting that resulted in dozens of military, civilian casualties before Qatar mediated a cease-fire on Oct. 19.