10, including four cops, martyred in Data Darbar suicide blast

Ag agencies

LAHORE: At least, 10 people including four Elite Force personnel were martyred and 28 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Data Darbar on Wednesday.

The blast occurred at 8:44am near a mobile van of the Elite Force parked near Gate Number 2, around 200 to 300 meters away from the actual entrance to the shrine. The injured were shifted to the Mayo Hospital, confirmed Rescue 1122 officials. Forensic experts collected evidence from the blast site and emergency was declared in hospitals of the provincial metropolis following the blast. The experts also collected the remains of the suicide bomber. The age of the bomber apparently ranged from eighteen to twenty, the police believed. He appeared from Sheesh Mahal Road on foot, approached the Elite Force personnel carrier and detonated his explosives near the vehicle. The police cordoned off the area soon after the attack and started investigations.

The martyred police officials are Head Constable Muhammad Suhail, Head Constable Shahid Nazir, Head Constable Gulzar Ali and Constable Muhammad Saleem.

The martyred citizens include private security guard Rafaqat, Rafique and four unknown persons, including a 12-year-old child. Funeral prayers for the four police officials were offered at the District Police Lines. Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, provincial ministers, Inspector General of Police Capt (retd) Arif Nawaz, CCPO Lahore BA Nasir and other civil and military high-ranking officers attended the prayers.

Suhail hailed from Gujranwala, Shahid from Kasur and Saleem from Mustafabad, Lahore. The injured constables were identified as Sadam Hussain, Muhammad Ejaz and Muhammad Kamran. The injured citizens were identified as Lubna Idrees, 35, Nawaz (cop), Ejazul Haq (cop), 22, Muhammad Ramzan (cop), Kamran (cop), 25, Muhammad Yousaf, 60, Ghulam Farid, 23, Syed Dildar Hussain, 38, Aurengzeb, Abdul Raheem, 50, Haji Muhammad Ibrahim, 60, Sarwar Khan, 45, Shabbir, 45, Faisal, 18, Allah Ditta, 12, Faryad, 50, Muhammad Asif, 65, Waqas, Ansar, 28 and Feezan, 19.

The police collected the CCTV footage from the Punjab Safe Cities Authority to identify the blast handlers. The Metro Bus Service was suspended from the MAO College to Data Darbar. Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar cancelled his trip to Bhakkar and summoned the officers of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority. He asked the IGP Punjab to submit a report on the incident.

Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the blast and sought a report. The premier condoled with the bereaved families and directed the authorities concerned to provide the best possible medical treatment to those injured in the blast. The IGP visited the Data Darbar after the blast and condemned the terror attack. He also monitored rescue and relief activities. He said the suicide attack was a cowardly act of anti-social elements, which could not shake the commitment of brave officials to protect the lives and properties of the public. He directed all RPOs and DPOs to visit field during Taraveeh prayers to check the security of A category at mosques. He directed that on highways, a sniper should be deputed at a distance from check-posts to handle any untoward incident. He said that senior officers should brief officials on security duty about the sensitivity of their duty on a daily basis to get the best results. He directed beefing up security at sensitive mosques, Imambargahs and business centres. Search, sweep, combing and intelligence-based operations should be geared up to improve security at entry and exit points of the city. He said the Punjab Police are acting as

frontline soldiers in the war against terrorism and sacrifices of police officials for peace in the country will not go waste. The DIG operations also visited the crime scene and gave instructions to the officers with regard to strengthening the security across the city.

The CTD investigators have collected one hand of the suicide bomber and dispatched it to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for identification. The complainant has said that three terrorists, including the suicide bomber, had approached the Elite Force vehicle from the Minar-e-Pakistan side. Two handlers left the place by shaking hands with the bomber and disappeared in the adjoining locality. The blast was so powerful that buildings were jolted while windowpanes shattered. The incident created panic in the locality.

The CCTV footage shows that the suicide bomber wearing Shalwar Kameez and waistcoat approached the Elite Force mobile and exploded himself with a big bang. It could be clearly seen in the footage that he was holding the trigger of the detonator in hand and was quickly moving forward towards the police personnel carrier. However, the officials of the Punjab Safe Cities Authority deputed for monitoring suspicious activities could not spot him that helped him achieve his target.

It is worth-mentioning here that the Hizb-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack in a message disseminated on the social media. The CTD and other law-enforcement agencies are trying to authenticate the claim. The spokesperson of the terrorist organization has termed the blast an Ishtihadi (suicidal) attack. It claimed targeting 12 personnel of law-enforcement agencies including cops and officials of sensitive agencies. The spokesman also claimed that there was no public at the time of the attack. In fact, a number of visitors fell victim to the blast and received injuries. The coward terrorist organization has threatened to carry further attacks on big targets.

CCPO Lahore BA Nasir visited the Mayo Hospital twice to inquire after the injured and presented the injured policemen with bouquets and cash amount of Rs50,000 each.

Three persons from Multan were killed in the blast and all of them belonged to the same village, the police said. The residents of Basti Jhandeywali on the Multan-Vehari road, Muhammad Rafiq, his eight-year-old son Ahmed and cousin Mushtaq Ahmed had gone to Data Darbar for pilgrimage, said Punjab Energy Minister Dr Akhtar Malik.

The CTD registered FIR No 11/19 under Sections 302/324186/353, 427/34120-B/109 of PPC, ¾ of Explosive Substance Act and 7 ATA.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed the authorities concerned to trace the network responsible for the blast at Data Darbar as soon as possible. He gave these directions while chairing a meeting at the Punjab Safe Cities Authority head office to review the law and order situation after the blast.

The inspector general of police, Punjab, presented the initial report regarding the incident to the CM. The CM was also apprised of the progress made in investigations. “We pay tributes to the sacrifices of martyrs and their heirs will not be left alone. We share the grief with them,” he said.

Provincial Ministers Basharat Raja, Hashim Dogar, Taimoor Khan and the chief secretary were present. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan condemned the blast. In a statement, she expressed condolences with the families of the martyred and said that those targeting the shrines of Sufi saints are enemies of Pakistan, who want to create anarchy in the country through hatching conspiracies.