Linking the Islamabad suicide bombing to Kabul, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the attack was a "message from the Afghan Taliban" -- one Islamabad was "fully prepared to respond to".

Asif’s remarks follow a recent suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 people and injured 36 others, an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).

The rare explosions in the country’s capitals have not been directly linked, but there are fears the governments will blame each other after their previous military conflict alarmed the world.

Intelligence reports link Dhaka and Islamabad military outreach with a potential Lashkar-e-Taiba push to open a new infiltration route into India.

Judges, lawyers and officials who carried out rulings under Pakistan’s un-Islamic laws were targeted,' the Pakistan Taliban said in a statement, claiming responsibility for the attack

This comes a day after a massive blast in a car near Delhi’s Red Fort left 10 people dead and investigators are already connecting the blast to Pakistan-linked networks.