LAHORE: National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf briefed the nation on the evidence gathered on the blast that took place in Lahore’s Johar Town, saying that the mastermind of the attack is an Indian citizen and has clear links with RAW (Indian Intelligence Agency).
Addressing a press conference alongside the Punjab police chief and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Moeed Yusuf quoted intelligence report and said, “Today without a doubt I want to say, the circumstances of this entire attack lead to Indian-sponsored terrorism.”
Yusuf said the government had the fakes names, real identities and location of the suspects because of efficient coordination between different agencies. “Indian use of territory and people of third countries, which actually embarrasses other countries, is not new,” he pointed out
“We have been constantly reminding the world of Indian actions, including a detailed dossier that was put out last November with details, minute details of finances, of action, of support coming from India,” the NSA added.
He drew attention to the recent report by EU DisinfoLab, an international reputed organisation, which provides a detailed account of how “hundreds and thousands of fake outlets were being used to malign Pakistan, to spread misinformation about Pakistan”.
The NSA also claimed that the day the blast took place, there were thousands of coordinated cyberattacks on the country’s information infrastructure. “The cyber attacks were carried out so that our investigation could not be successful,” he said, adding that the country’s institutions were successful because they had been strengthened to work on cybersecurity.
“We have no doubt that the Johar Town and cyber attacks are linked. The number in which the cyberattacks were done, there is no doubt that there was state involvement of India,” he added.
According to Yusuf, the “direct origin” of the money through which the attack was financed was from India. Yusuf also spoke in English at the end of his briefing, to ensure that the international community has a clear idea of the findings.
“I want to make sure that our message is heard very clearly, that this particular incident on the 23rd of June in Lahore. We have concrete evidence and intelligence, including financial and telephone records that point to direct Indian sponsorship of these terrorists,” he said.
Prior to Yusuf’s briefing, Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani provided an account of the events leading up to the blast. At the outset of the briefing IG Ghani noted that the blast occurred on June 23 and destroyed 12 cars and seven houses.
On June 23, a powerful blast near the residence of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Johar Town had killed three people and injured 24 others, including a police constable.
Six-year-old Abdul Haq, his father Abdul Malik, 50, and a young passerby died in the explosion that left a four-foot-deep and eight-foot-wide crater on the road and damaged several houses and shops nearby.
