Islamabad’s landmark Faisal mosque is on high alert after the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan purportedly released a chilling image of a “facilitator" holding a grenade with the religious structure pictured in it.
According to top intelligence sources, by releasing this picture, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has declared the Faisal mosque as its next target. The image could not be independtly verified byNews18.
Security forces declared Faisal Mosque on high alert after purported threat emerged online. A facilitator linked to TTP posted the image, which is purportedly in front of the mosque. In the social media post, the facilitator stated that the Faisal Mosque will be “our next target very soon".
Intelligence sources toldNews18that this provocative post is a calculated transition toward psychological warfare. By selecting the Faisal Mosque — recognised as the largest mosque in South Asia and a primary symbol of Pakistani national identity and Islamic heritage — the TTP aims to strike at the very heart of the nation’s pride. Such imagery is designed to amplify public fear and demonstrate the militant group’s capability to infiltrate and operate within major urban centres like Islamabad, they said.
In direct response to the social media post, government authorities have significantly increased surveillance and patrol units around the mosque’s perimeter. The transition to a high-alert status indicates that Pakistani officials are treating the threat with the utmost gravity, deploying a heightened military presence specifically intended to protect the capital’s most iconic structure from potential terrorist incursions.
The sources said this escalation follows a well-documented historical pattern of the TTP targeting religious sites to assert ideological dominance. The group has a track record of attacking mosques and shrines, often focusing on those they perceive as ideologically opposed to their own Deobandi jihadist ideology.
They said this has previously manifested in devastating bombings of Shia mosques and Sufi shrines across Pakistan. By positioning the Faisal Mosque as a “soft target", the TTP is attempting to project power and spread a sense of vulnerability within the seat of government.
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
