Pakistan says Islamabad, South Waziristan bombers were Afghan nationals

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the two suicide bombers involved in two attacks in the country this week were Afghan nationals, as authorities announced they had made several arrests.

Naqvi made the remarks in Parliament on Thursday during a session broadcast live on television.

On Wednesday, at least 12 people were killed and more than 30 others injured, many seriously, in a suicide the bomber was blown up at the entrance to the Islamabad District Court Complex.

The anti-terrorism department in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, said seven suspects were arrested in connection with Islamabad explosion. The suspected perpetrators were apprehended from Rawalpindi’s Fauji Colony and Dhoke Kashmirian, daily Dawn reported, while a raid was also carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

The other suicide attack took place on Monday at a college in South Waziristan, KP.

The Cadet College, located near the Afghan border, was attacked when a vehicle loaded with explosives rammed its main entrance. Two attackers were killed at the main entrance, while three others managed to enter, according to police.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been very tense in recent years, with Islamabad accusing fighters who took refuge across the border of staging attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies having given refuge to armed groups to attack Pakistan.

Dozens of soldiers were killed in border clashes between the two countries last month, along with several civilians.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan could launch strikes in Afghanistan following this week’s attacks, saying the country was “in a state of war.”

“Anyone who thinks that the Pakistani army is waging this war in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and remote areas of Balochistan should take today’s suicide attack on the district courts of Islamabad as a wake-up call,” he said.

Pakistan passes bill granting lifelong immunity to army chief

In another development on Thursday, Pakistan’s parliament approved a sweeping constitutional amendment, granting lifetime immunity to the current army chief, thereby strengthening the army’s power, which was previously reserved only for the head of state, despite widespread criticism from opposition parties and critics.

The 27th Amendment, passed by a two-thirds majority, also consolidates military power under a new chief of defense forces and establishes a Federal Constitutional Court.

These changes give army chief Asim Munir, recently promoted to field marshal after the clash between Pakistan and India in May, command of the army, air force and navy.

Munir, like other senior military officers, would benefit from lifetime protection.

Any officer promoted to Field Marshal, Air Force Marshal, or Fleet Admiral will now retain his rank and privileges for life, remain in uniform, and enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution.

The amendment also prohibits courts from second-guessing any constitutional change “on any grounds.”