Twelve people have been killed in a suicide blast outside the district and sessions court building in Islamabad's G-11 area.
The death toll was confirmed to Dawn by a senior Islamabad police official.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and President Asif Ali Zardari both termed the incident a "suicide blast".
In a post on X, the president expressed his condolences to the bereaved families, prayed for the recovery of the injured and paid tribute to law enforcement agencies.
Defence Minister Asif also called the incident a "wake-up call".
"We are 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, today's suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts is a wake-up call," he said.
"In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with the rulers of Kabul," he added.
Videos of the incident on social media showed flames and plumes of smoke rising into the air from the remains of a charred vehicle behind a security barrier.
"As I parked my car and entered the complex … I heard a loud bang on the gate," lawyer Rustam Malik told AFP after the blast, which sent people fleeing and damaged vehicles in the area.
"It was complete chaos, lawyers and people were running inside the complex. I saw two dead bodies lying on the gate and several cars were on fire," said Malik, one of the witnesses who spoke to AFP.
FP/MI
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