In the Lal Masjid bombing of 6 July 2008 at 7:50 pm local time, a 30-year-old suicide bomber blew himself up near the Lal Masjid mosque in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, the capital of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, killing 18 policemen and 1 civilian. The bombing occurred on the first anniversary of the

siege of Lal Masjid The siege of Lal Masjid (; code-named Operation Sunrise) was an armed confrontation in July 2007 between Islamic fundamentalist militants and the government of Pakistan, led by president Pervez Musharraf and prime minister Shaukat Aziz. The ...

and was likely a revenge attack. The attack occurred even amid tight security in

, where thousands of Islamic students in Pakistan came to mark the day when Pakistani troops stormed Lal Masjid. Pakistani Interior Minister

Rehman Malik Rehman Malik NI ( Punjabi, Urdu: رحمان ملک; born 12 December 1951 – 23 February 2022) was a Pakistani politician, and a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officer, who later served as the federal Interior Minister from 25 Marc ...

, who visited the blast site, said about 12,000 students attended the rally and the attack was directed at police.

Domestic reaction

* Minister for Information and Broadcasting –

Sherry Rehman Shehrbano "Sherry" Rehman (; born 21 December 1960) is a Pakistani politician and journalist who has been the member of the Senate of Pakistan since 2015. She was the first female Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from March to August 2018 ...

said the "government would never tolerate such acts and the perpetrators would be taken to task. Neither our religion nor any welfare state allows such acts. This is a hopeless attempt by those against the country and the democracy." *

Tehrik-e-Taliban The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...

– A senior

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

official was quoted as saying, "We are holding consultations. Once our top leadership gives instruction, then the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan TPwill issue a statement about the bomb blast in Islamabad." But he also added, "Taliban too were angered by the onslaught against Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid. We cannot forget what happened there."

International reaction

* – The Foreign Affairs Adviser of the Interim Cabinet

Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is a former Bangladesh Advisor (Minister) of Foreign Affairs (2007-2009), a position he held after a long career in diplomacy and the Civil Service, starting in Pakistan in 1969, thereafter transferring to Banglade ...

said "This was a heinous act of cowardice perpetuated by terrorists, and we condemn it in the strongest terms," adding "Terrorism cannot and will not win. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, and our sympathies to the Pakistani government and people." * –

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

's spokesperson,

Michele Montas Michele () is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (usually pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and iden ...

said "The Secretary-General urges all political forces to unite against the scourge of terrorism and expresses his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Pakistan." *FICA –

Federation of International Cricketers' Associations World Cricketers' Association (WCA), formerly known as the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), is the global representative body for professional cricketers in cricket. It represents players from most of the leading cricke ...

(FICA) chief

Tim May Timothy Brian Alexander May (born 26 January 1962) is a former Australian cricketer for South Australia. He was, until June 2013, a leading players' representative in his role as Chief Executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' A ...

was quoted as saying, "FICA is very concerned about the inherent risks of holding such an event in Pakistan in such a landscape of unrest and volatility and opposition to western countries."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lal Masjid Bombing, 2008 2008 murders in Pakistan Suicide bombings in 2008 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Mass murder in 2008 2008 building bombings Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2008 Suicide bombings in Pakistan Terrorist incidents in Islamabad Mosque bombings in Pakistan July 2008 in Pakistan Mass murder in Islamabad 21st-century attacks on mosques