Blast in Pakistan market kills 23 amid Taliban peace talks

A bomb tore through a bustling fruit and vegetable market in Islamabad on Wednesday, killing at least 23 people, police said, the latest violence to hit government peace talks with the Taliban.

The blast took place around 8 am at the wholesale market close to the Pakistani capital's twin city Rawalpindi, as hundreds of grocers and sellers gathered to trade.

The bombing - the deadliest to hit Islamabad since a huge truck bomb at the Marriott Hotel in 2008 - left a crater 1.5 meters in diameter.

The attack comes as the government tries to negotiate an end to the yearslong conflict with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group.

Talks began between government and TTP intermediaries in February, but more than 160 people have been killed in attacks since the start of the process, leading many to question its worth.

The TTP's main spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the group had nothing to do with Wednesday's attack and urged the government to find those responsible.

Thousands have been killed in militant violence since the TTP rose up against the Pakistani state in 2007, but attacks on the capital, much of which is heavily guarded, have been rare in recent years.

Wednesday's blast came a little over a month after a gun and suicide bomb attack on a court complex in Islamabad killed 11 people, including a judge.

The TTP also denied responsibility for that attack, which was claimed by the Ahrar-ul-Hind splinter group, which rejects the peace process.