India, Nov. 12 -- Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday declared that his country was now "in a state of war, calling the deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad a "wake-up call" for the nation.

Without directly naming who Pakistan was in a "state of war" with, Asif indicated that Islamabad was running out of patience with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan after the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan blames the Afghan Taliban for sheltering TTP, a claim that Kabul denies.

"We are in a state of war. Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today's suicide ...