A blast in Islamabad, Pakistan, has killed at least 12 people and injured 27 others. The Pakistani government believes the explosion was a suicide attack.

The incident occurred near a court in the capital shortly after noon on Tuesday.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the attacker stayed around the site for around 10 minutes in an attempt to enter the court. He said the attacker could not do so and then detonated explosives targeting a police vehicle.

The minister said investigators are trying to identify the attacker among other details.

Pakistan's Prime Minister's Office says Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, calling it a terrorist attack and blaming Indian-backed extremists, without providing any evidence.

India's foreign ministry rejected the claim, saying, "It is a predictable tactic by Pakistan to concoct false narratives."

The Pakistani Taliban, an Islamist militant group, has carried out a string of terrorist attacks in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused the group of receiving support from India to conduct at tacks in Pakistan.

nhk