Anti-Pakistan agency involved in Lahore blast: CM Punjab

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar today (Monday) disclosed that an “anti-state agency” was involved in the Lahore Johar Town blast in which three people were killed and 24 others injured.

“Terrorists responsible for the Johar Town bomb blast in Lahore have been arrested,” the chief minister said while addressing a press conference in Lahore. “It was revealed that an anti-Pakistan agency was directly involved and it provided financial aid to the terrorists,” he added.

He said that the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab had traced the culprits behind the incident within 16 hours of the blast. The chief minister heaped praise on CTD Punjab for pursuing the case in a professional manner to expose those who were behind the attack.

The chief minister further revealed that during the investigation all evidence gathered points towards “international elements providing financial aid to the domestic terrorist network”.

Buzdar informed that terrorists were arrested within four days through raids conducted in different parts of the country. He elaborated that the buyer of the vehicle involved in the attack and those tasked with planting the explosives and executing the plan have been arrested.

Punjab IG delves into details of Lahore Johar Town blast

Taking over the presser, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani said the police tried to go beyond identifying the car used in the blast and within a few hours, the police had reached the people who owned the car.

“The suspect who arranged all this has been arrested, those who arranged the car and those who repaired the car and those who filled the car with explosive material as well — we have all of them. We have close to 10 Pakistani citizens — men and women — who were involved in this and who executed it,” he revealed.

The IGP Punjab also said the police had also identified the masterminds behind the explosion who belonged to hostile intelligence agencies. “We have shared the information with the federal government and intelligence agencies. A joint investigation team (JIT) has been formed and it will look into the matter,” he added.

Ghani further said the police would investigate what previous cases the suspects were involved in and the hostile intelligence agencies they were linked to, expressing the hope that the police would prosecute the case in a “good way” so those involved would be convicted.

When asked which country the hostile intelligence agency was from and whether its agents were operating in Pakistan, the IGP Punjab replied that it would “not be appropriate” to mention them.

“These hostile agencies cannot come inside Pakistan because of how our agencies and immigrations department are working. They find agents in Middle East countries. So, no person of an external agency comes and carries out attacks himself,” he added.