Hostile intelligence agency behind Lahore blast, reveals CM Buzdar

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced on Monday that all terrorists involved in the blast in Lahore’s Johar Town have been arrested.

Addressing a press conference alongside the Punjab inspector general of police, the chief minister revealed that a “hostile intelligence agency” was involved in the explosion that killed three people and injured 22 others.

Terming the arrests of the suspects a “big success” of the Punjab government, CM Buzdar said that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) identified them within 16 hours and in the last four days, all the terrorists were arrested during raids in different parts of the country.

“It transpired that a hostile spy agency was behind the attack,” he disclosed, adding it provided financial help to the network that carried out the attack.

The chief minister said he himself went to inquire after the injured people following the blast.

“To trace terrorists was a test case,” he continued and lauded the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for their swift action to arrest the suspects.

CM Buzdar said all high-profile cases in the province were traced.

IG Inam Ghani said the police collected evidence from the blast site in no time and traced the suspects after identifying the vehicle used in the blast within a few hours of the explosion.

Those involved in the purchase of the vehicle, their facilitators and the one who repaired it were arrested, he said, adding about 10 suspects were involved in the blast.

He disclosed that the mastermind of the blast had also been identified with a joint investigation team (JIT) constituted for further investigation.