ISLAMABAD: The deputy inspector-general of Islamabad Police on Saturday requested the government to constitute a joint investigative team (JIT) to probe a suicide blast that claimed the life of a policeman and a civilian during the snap checking of a vehicle in the city on Friday.

The incident took place amid a recent surge in militant violence in Pakistan that was mostly witnessed in the northwestern territories of the country bordering Afghanistan.

Officials in Islamabad have blamed a proscribed militant network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), for the extremist violence while urging the interim Taliban administration in Kabul not to allow armed groups to use the Afghan soil against other states.

The TTP, whose top leaders are based in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the suicide explosion in the federal capital while describing it as an attack to avenge the killing of its senior commander Omar Khalid Khorasani in the neighboring country last August.

The senior Islamabad police official also suggested names of the officers who could be included in the investigation team in his letter, a copy of which is available with Arab News.

It noted that a police report of the incident had been registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) which justified the demand for the inquiry.

“As provided in section 19-A of ATA, 1997, cases registered under this Act shall be investigated by Joint Investigation Team (JIT),” the letter said. “It is, therefore, requested that JIT comprising following officers may kindly be constituted by the Government/Chief Commissioner’s Office Islamabad.”

The letter mentioned the senior superintendent police of Counter-Terrorism Department, divisional police officer along with representatives of Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence.

Following the incident on Friday, Islamabad Police issued a security high alert in the city and banned people from carrying any kind of weapons. All election-related gatherings without police permission were also prohibited by the authorities.

According to local media reports, the CTD Punjab on Saturday arrested seven suspected militants affiliated with different proscribed outfits from across the province while capturing arms and explosives in their possession.