India behind terrorist attacks - Pak Foreign Minister

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India behind terrorist attacks, says Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan was not involved in Mumbai terror attacks.

However, Islamabad has substantial evidence to prove India’s involvement in terror activities in the country.

In an interview with an Arab television, Mr Qureshi said the international community supported Pakistan’s stand that it was not involved in the Mumbai attacks.

‘Now it has been admitted worldwide that Pakistan was above question with regard to the Mumbai terror incident,’ the foreign minister said.

He reiterated that there was concrete evidence to prove New Delhi’s hand in terror activities in Pakistan.

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | India behind terrorist attacks, says Qureshi

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Who is behind Lahore blast?

ISLAMABAD, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Analysts in Pakistan are divided over the role behind the massive suicide blast in Lahore on Monday, however, they agree that Taliban are too weak to launch such an attack on their own.

A building of Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab and the second biggest city in Pakistan, was targeted in a suicide car bomb blast Monday morning, killing at least 13 people including two security officials and injuring 89 others.

A Peshawar-based senior journalist told Xinhua that Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast when he contacted Azam Tariq, the spokesman of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

But analysts maintain that TTP has weakened to a large extent and has no ability to launch such a planned attack.

Former Secretary of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Brigadier Mehmood Shah told Xinhua that the militants have been forced to divide into small segments in various areas of the country and they are on run now.

Shah, also an expert on Pakistani tribal areas and military affairs, said that Taliban accept responsibility for such attacks just to give an impression of their presence and strength.

He said that it has been witnessed the capture of a number of militants and their leaders from various Pakistani cities including Karachi, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, areas in Azad Kashmir.

He said that every small Taliban group has its own agenda but he does not believe that the attack in Lahore was carried out by TTP.

On the contrary, Imtiaz Gul, an expert on militancy, said that no doubt that TTP has weakened to a large extent, however, an organization never can be busted by killing or arresting a few of its leaders or members.

"Yes, the possibility of carrying out the Lahore attack by TTP is there and involvement of foreign hand cannot be ruled out," Gul said.

 

[Hyde]

This attack had so many familarities with attacks that used to take place pre-9/11 and we used to blame India for each and every single attack

It wasn't a bomb blast........ and also one indian agent was held in Lahore yesterday........... i have a doubt India is behind this attack once again

 

[Awesome]

Now that the dust has settled, lets focus upon the enemy, whoever it is.

 

[RobbieS]

Let your agencies get done with the investigations and we can see who the culprits are.

 

[Awesome]

Four Pakistani Taliban members arrested in Lahore - dnaindia.com

Four Pakistani Taliban members arrested in Lahore

LAHORE: Four members of Pakistani Taliban militant group have been arrested here in connection with Monday's suicide car bomb attack on a special investigation unit that killed 14 people.

The men arrested by the Crime Investigation Agency are Mohammad Yasin alias Junaid, Mohammad Kamran alias Zarar, Abu Bakr alias Suleman and Khurshid Ali.

Lahore police chief Pervez Rathore said the CIA worked with intelligence agencies to gather the particulars of these terrorists and arrested them from a house in the northern part of the city.

Rathore told PTI that the arrested men were members of the Punjab-based network of the Pakistani Taliban and had been trained in Waziristan and Afghanistan.

"They came here after completing their training to carry out terror attacks in the city," Rathore said.

Police were investigating their role in Monday's attack on the office of the special investigation unit, he said.

A suicide bomber had rammed his explosive laden car into the building where police interrogated high-value terrorist suspects killing 14 people, most of them officials.

 

[Awesome]

 

[RobbieS]

It is RAW-CIA-Massod sponsored conspiracy on developed pakistan.

Now every pak member is happy now.

Noob, exercise restraint. No need to pick fights.

 

[Awesome]

 

[LCA Tejas]

Noob, exercise restraint. No need to pick fights.

No trolling, let them say what ever they want... lets not pick a fight... Pray for those who died instead...

 

[Awesome]

 

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Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

India rubbishes charge of involvement in Lahore blast

LAHORE: Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna denied that India was involved in Monday’s suicide bomb blast in Lahore,
the Indian Express reported
on Wednesday. The minister termed it as an ‘unthinkable’ allegation and said Pakistan is facing such attacks due to its selective approach in combating terrorism. “I think all these issues of blasts arise out of our attitude towards terror,” Krishna said. “When we take a firm stand against terror, not on a selective basis but across the board, then I am sure that Pakistan will be happier and India will be peaceful,” the foreign minister told the newspaper.
daily times monitor

 

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Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Taliban dare Lahore

By Muhammad Aayan

LAHORE: Twin suicide blasts, moments apart from each other and targeting the military, ripped through the provincial capital’s RA Bazaar in the cantonment area on Thursday, killing at least 57 people – including eight soldiers – and injuring more than 90, according to officials.

The bombers struck during Friday prayers at around 12:50pm. The first bomber targeted an army patrol unit near a mosque and the RA Bazaar bus stand, in a densely populated area housing shops, mini restaurants, stalls and grocery stores. Gunshots were also heard following the attack, adding to the panic in the area.

SSP (Investigations) Zulfiqar Hameed said security personnel probably started firing as a reaction to the attack. “This is only a guess ... what exactly happened will be known after investigations,” he said.

As rescuers rushed to help victims, another bomber struck around two minutes later only a few yards away from the site of the first attack. Footage of the blasts broadcast by various TV channels showed terrified citizens running in all directions after the second attack amid a thick cloud of smoke. Witnesses said they saw injured people with severed limbs crying for help in pools of blood. One man, who apparently shot the video on a mobile phone, is heard murmuring, “Oh my God, oh my God, be kind to us God.”

As the shock subsided, rescuers started shifting the victims to various hospitals, while the army closed Sherpao Bridge and Mian Mir Bridge to traffic.

According to police sources, initial investigations suggest both bombers were aged between 17 and 20 years. Bomb disposal squad officials said both bombers used suicide vests – weighing 10 kilogrammes each and packed with ball bearings and blades – to carry out the attacks.

An ISPR statement said eight soldiers were among those killed and 12 others had been injured.

Taliban responsibility: Meanwhile, a private television channel reported that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility of the RA Bazaar bombings.

Another television channel reported that al Qaeda-linked Sunni terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had claimed responsibility of the bombings.

SSP (Operations) Shafiq Ahmed told reporters at the site of the attacks that the bombers were on foot and targeted the patrol unit. He said the heads of the bombers had been found and sent for DNA tests.

However, it is yet uncertain if the bombers were riding bikes or were on foot.

Punjab IG Tariq Saleem Dogar told the media that the security forces had gathered “technical evidence” that would facilitate investigations.

A witness, Qari Haneef, told Daily Times that he heard the blast on his way from Nishtar Colony. “I headed towards the direction of the blast ... after a few seconds, I heard gunshots, and moments later, another blast echoed through the surroundings ... all I could think of was saving my own life. It was chaos ... hardly anybody knew what had happened,” he said.

Another witness – salesman Khurram Kaleem – told Daily Times that he was offloading merchandise when the first bomber struck. “I fell to the ground because of the shockwave ... when I turned around, I saw thick clouds of smoke everywhere ... I then saw my colleague, Shafiq ... his arm had been ripped off. As I stepped forward to help him, the second bomber struck ... I fell unconscious because of the shockwave.”

Muhammad Nadeem, a witness in his 20s whose clothes were stained with blood, told AFP he was offering prayers in the nearby mosque when he heard the first blast and rushed out only to hear another explosion. “The second blast took place very near a military vehicle. I sensed real danger and started running,” he said.

The cantonment area houses several army installations, army officials’ residences and schools.

The entire cantonment area was cordoned off following the attacks as law-enforcement agencies launched investigations.

President Asif Ali, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and the US have strongly condemned the attack.

 

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Multiple Terror blasts shake Lahore



LAHORE: Panic and fear gripped Lahore on Friday after it was rocked by a twin-suicide attack that killed at least 50 people, followed by a series of low-intensity explosions that made a mockery of the security apparatus.

Two suicide bombers struck in R.A. Bazaar area of the cantonment in the afternoon, killing 50 people, including eight soldiers, and injuring around 120 others. Then in the evening, six blasts shook Allama Iqbal Town and Samanabad.

According to police, the explosions were intended to terrorise an already rattled populace. A seventh blast reported from the same area was caused, according to police, by an electricity transformer which blew up because of some technical fault.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks.

An FIR of the R.A. bazaar blasts registered by the cantonment police at night put the number of dead between 50 and 60 and the injured at 120.

Cantonment SP Jawad Qamar said that scattered limbs had made it difficult to give an exact toll and to identity the dead.

The R.A. Bazaar attacks were almost simultaneous and took place close to a busy market minutes before Friday prayers.

According to officials of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), personnel of the Army’s Garrison Security Force (GSF) were hit when they were on their way to a mosque for carrying out security duties during Friday congregations.

As the site of the attack was close to a bus terminal and a busy market, many shoppers and passers-by were caught by the impact of the attacks. More than 35 civilians were killed, among them women and children. Eight soldiers lost their lives and 12 others suffered injuries.

Two vehicles of the GSF and several cars and motorcycles were destroyed. Windowpanes and doors in the surrounding areas came apart.

The bombers, who were said to be on foot, managed to reach the R.A. Bazaar in spite of a thick blanket of security, including some military pickets.

Since it is a cantonment area, the bazaar is near sensitive military offices and installations. The two attacks occurred within three minutes of each other.

The military personnel and police cordoned off the place and did not give media and citizens access to the scene. After the explosions, an army helicopter hovered over the area for some time.

Senior Superintendent of Police (operations) Chaudhry Shafiq Ahmad told Dawn that police had found heads of both the suicide bombers, who appeared to be teenagers, at some distance from the spot and sent them to the forensic laboratory.

He said the bombers wore suicide jackets which carried 10 kilograms of explosives. The SSP said one of the bombers blew himself up near a GSF pick-up parked near the mosque while the other detonated himself at a little distance away just as two more army vehicles arrived there.

Syed Sajid Ali, who runs a medical store nearby, told Dawn he had come to the mosque in the bazaar for Friday prayers five minutes before the first blast took place on Khuda Baksh Road. He said as he and others, present in the mosque, came out the second powerful blast occurred at R.A. Bazaar Chowk, a few yards away from the site of the first blast.

“Black smoke engulfed the bazaar and there were bodies and human body parts scattered on the road,” Sajid Ali said, adding that he picked several dead and injured to put them in police vans, rickshaws and ambulances. He said the second blast caused more damage than the first one.

The official response varied from one Punjab government functionary to another. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the blast was unfortunate given the security in place.

The Punjab law minister disagreed with the assertion that it was a security lapse and did not rule out the involvement of foreign hand.

But Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervaiz was categorical in saying that India was behind the terror.

The suicide attacks came only four days after a strike in Lahore’s Model Town left 14 people dead.

The horror was compounded after a series of blasts shook Allama Iqbal Town and Samanabad. The low-intensity, but scary series of explosions all the same, targeted one residential block after another in the 1600-acre Allama Iqbal Town.

These were reminiscent of the flurry of low-intensity blasts in Karachi last year and the ones that occurred in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu area, also last year.

Iqbal town blasts

Five explosions in residential localities of Iqbal Town, near Moon Market, triggered panic among residents and traders.

SSP Shafiq said that low-intensity cracker bombs had been used by miscreants apparently to harass and create unrest among the citizens.

He said explosives had either been planted or concealed in the ground in majority of strikes.

He said the first explosion occurred along the wall of 163-Kashmir Block at about 8:45pm, followed by another beneath a car parked outside 737-Kashmir Block, owned by Group Captain Inamul Haq.

The third explosion also took place in the same block within a few minutes and the fourth one in Huma Block.

The SSP said that only a car was damaged in the second explosion. There was no loss of life or injury.

The fifth explosion occurred near Moon Market at about 11:25pm.

The Samanabad blast took place outside the house of a government official.

 

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Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

Govt failed to prevent attacks

LAHORE: Despite receiving a warning regarding impending suicide attacks, the Punjab government failed to prevent the terror attacks that rocked Lahore. Intelligence agencies had warned the government that there were 18 TTP militants in at least 11 cities of the province and the possibility of an attack on the Special Intelligence Agency (SIA) and Lahore Cantt. Intel agencies also warned that a wing commander’s car, stolen from Lahore, could be used in a suicide attack. asad kharal

 

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Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

CITY UNDER SIEGE

By Muhammad Aayan and Afnan Khan

LAHORE: If the twin suicide bombings in RA Bazaar had not created enough panic and fear among the residents in the provincial metropolis, several minor blasts in various areas further crippled life in the city.

Everyone from vendors, rickshaw drivers and the general public ran for cover and tried to rush to their homes as soon as the blasts occurred. Hundreds of shops in Iqbal Town immediately closed down after the first blast in Kashmir Block, behind the town police station while the rumors of another blast in Moon Market circulated.

The series of small-scale blasts in Iqbal Town alone disillusioned and petrified the citizens so much that they immediately rushed to their homes from where they were at the time of the first couple of blasts. Staying out on the roads was the last thing on their minds. All major roads, including Mall Road, Canal Road, Ferozepur Road, Jail Road, Multan Road, Gulberg’s Main Boulevard, Kalma Chowk and their connecting arteries were choked because of traffic jams. People were stuck for hours as police had to cordon off all the roads leading to Iqbal Town. The resulting pandemonium and mayhem caused minor traffic jams in Iqbal Town and its surrounding areas, while same was the case with areas near the Cantonment when the first blast of the day rattled the RA Bazaar vicinity.

Ghost town: However, traffic remained choked for only a little while and soon the city of life, Lahore, turned into a ghost town. Deserted roads replaced the rush and traffic as citizens chose to stay indoors and confined to their homes as seen in a curfew. Announcements were also heard from the town mosques, directing residents to stay indoors, saying there was no clue how many more bombs could take place.

It was an unusual sight in the otherwise hustling and bustling Lahore as a war-like situation was witnessed in the city on Friday, as terrorised and disillusioned citizens stayed indoors in absolute fear.

War: “It reminded me of the 1965 war when people used to make similar announcements on loudspeakers and through sirens asking citizens to head for safer places,” Nadeem Iqbal, an Ichhra resident stated. More so, as rumours of the presence of an explosives device were heard in the area, he added. A resident of the Cantonment area, Imran, told Daily Times his daughter was on her way home from school when the blasts took place in RA Bazaar, her daily route to and from school. He said he kept trying her cell phone but found it switched off, which terrified him and his family, but thankfully she reached home safely and told them that mobile networks had choked due to the blasts.

Area sealed: Moreover, the Cantonment area was sealed off by army and law enforcement agencies, after the twin blasts in RA Bazaar, and they launched a massive search and scanning operation in the area. Residential colonies and military barracks were also sealed and officials thoroughly searched each vehicle entering the area. Other entrances to the area were also sealed after around three hours of the incident. Residents of the Cantonment area were especially engulfed in fear and were stressed out because of the proximity of the attack.

Jammed: Mobile phone networks were also jammed, as the number of outgoing calls increased manifold. People from across the world started calling their relative in Lahore, which throttled the cellular networks.