Condolences pour in for blast victims

LAHORE

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) on Tuesday held a general house meeting condemning the Lahore blast and termed it government failure to protect its citizens.

The house condemned the attack and expressed grief over the loss of lives, including two senior police officials. LHCBA president Rana Zia Abdul Rehman said The Mall suicide attack had exposed the government claim of foolproof security. He said the rulers only concern was to extend their rule, as even on secret agencies information about the incident the government could not take measures to control it. The house expressed sympathies with bereaved families and offered Fateha for departed souls.

LBA: Lawyers of Lahore Bar Association on Tuesday observed strike to condemn deadly blast in Lahore which took 13 lives, including police officials.

The lawyers did not join court proceedings due to which cases were put on next hearings without any development.

The lawyers while talking to The News expressed their anger over the substandard security arrangements in the metropolitan. They demanded the government take immediate action to improve security in the city. 

Funeral: Punjab School Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed on Tuesday attended the funeral prayer for 22-year-old victim of Lahore blast.      

He offered prayer for Ali Hassan,  a resident of Canal Colony, Dharampura. Later talking to the media, Rana Mashhood expressed grief over the unfortunate incident and expressed condolences to the bereaved family. He said the entire nation and law enforcement agencies were determined to root out terrorism from the country.

shutdown: Partial shutter down was observed in the city on the mourning call of the traders’ bodies in the wake of Monday’s suicide blast. 

Wholesale markets of the Walled City, Anarkali, Shahalam, Mall Road, Neela Gumbed, Urdu Bazaar and other adjacent markets were closed. However, posh and semi-posh localities including Gulberg, Model Town, DHA, Township, Johar Town and others remained open. The markets of GT Road, Multan Road, Ferozepur Road were partially opened. 

Thin attendance: While some private schools of the provincial metropolis remained closed on Tuesday in the wake of Monday evening’s deadly terrorist attack, on The Mall, a thin attendance was observed in majority of public and private schools. 

The Punjab government had announced a mourning day on Tuesday in the wake of unfortunate incident in which 13 innocent people lost their lives. While a faction of private schools had announced closure of the schools the others did not.

M Sarwar a public school headmaster said relatively thin attendance was reported in majority of the schools in Lahore on Tuesday as parents did not send their kids to schools. 

Meanwhile, different teachers associations condemning the suicide attack expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives and prayed for early recovery of those injured in the blast. 

Prayers: A prayer ceremony was held at Child Protection Welfare Bureau (CPWB) on Tuesday for the police officers and other people who died in bomb blast.

CPWB Director General Fatima Sheikh, Director Programme Tania Malik, other officials and children participated in the ceremony. Chairperson Saba Sadiq condemned the blast and said it was a national tragedy.

Qadri: PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has condemned the suicide attack in Lahore and said it has once again exposed the Punjab government’s security plans. 

In a statement issued on Tuesday, he alleged that the incident was the outcome of the government’s inaction against sleeping cells in Punjab and its
 failure to implement National Action Plan in letter and spirit. He said the government should be held accountable for not getting benefits from the Operation Zarb-i-Azb. He said delay in extending the term of military courts had put a question mark over the intent of the government in the terror war, asking what alternative the government has other than the summary courts for speedy trial of terrorists. 

Dr Tahirul Qadri said terrorist struck The Mall now but the fact was that they had hit all big markets, bazaars, mosques, parks and offices of security forces in the past. Banning protests on The Mall will serve no purpose, he said, adding solution to the problem lies in the change in the mindset of those calling the shots. He reiterated Qazi Essa Report was an eye opener not only for the general public bust also for the departments concerned.

Praying and expressing sympathies with the families of the victims of the blast, he said terrorists would continue striking innocent people until their facilitators and sympathisers were not taken to task. He said the Model Town incident was a test case in this regard. He said if operations were carried out in Karachi and Quetta, why Lahore was an exception. He questioned the justification for not starting an operation in Punjab. He said Punjab ministers warned the protesting druggists against potential terror attack but they had not taken them on board while passing the bill.