Pakistani police say that at least six people were killed and more than a dozen wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up Friday night outside a mosque for minority Shi'ite Muslims in the city of Rawalpindi.
Witnesses say that the suicide bomber tried to enter the mosque where a big religious gathering was underway but detonated the bomb after security guards intercepted him.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has condemned the blast and "expressed government's resolve in eradicating the menace of terrorism," his office said in a statement.
There are no immediate claims of responsibility for the bombing.
The Shi'ite mosque is located in a congested part of the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. It comes at a time of increased security around the country following last month's school attack in Peshawar that killed 150 people, most of them children.
The government has since taken several administrative and legislative measures to counter terrorism and extremism. They include reinstatement of the death penalty and a new law passed by parliament this week, allowing creation of military courts to try civilian terrorism suspects.
On Friday, the military said authorities have begun setting up the courts. Nine courts are being created across the country initially, adding "these courts will start functioning soon."
Since the deadly school attack in Peshawar, Pakistan has executed nine people convicted of previous terrorism charges.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the school attack and vowed to carry out more attacks.
