Pakistan condemns deadly Istanbul blast

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan strongly condemns a bombing in a busy Istanbul street in Turkey that killed six people and wounded scores, the Foreign Office said.

"We extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and wish a speedy recovery to those injured," the Foreign Office said in a statement issued late on Sunday.

Pakistan firmly stands with the people of Turkey in the fight against the scourge of terrorism, it added.

The explosion tore through Istiklal Avenue, a popular shopping destination for locals and tourists, on Sunday afternoon. No individual or group has claimed the attack but the nation's interior minister accused the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a militant organisation.

"I have learned with deep anguish about the explosion at Istiklal Avenue in the heart of Istanbul," Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.

"(The) government and the people of Pakistan express deepest condolences to the brotherly people of Türkiye at the loss of precious lives and send prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured," the prime minister added.

I have learnt with deep anguish about the explosion at popular Istiklal avenue in the heart of Istanbul. Govt & people of Pakistan express deepest condolences to the brotherly people of Turkiye at the loss of precious lives & send prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) November 13, 2022

A suspect was arrested by the early hours of Monday. "The person who planted the bomb has been arrested," Suleyman Soylu, the interior minister, said in a statement broadcast by the Anadolu Agency.

"According to our findings, the PKK terrorist organisation is responsible," he said.

The PKK, blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara as well as its Western allies, has kept up a deadly insurgency for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.

Regularly targeted by Turkish military operations, the group is also at the heart of a tussle between Sweden and Turkey, which has been blocking Stockholm's entry into NATO since May, accusing it of leniency towards the PKK.