LAHORE/Rawalpindi - Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar Monday revealed that all the international and local actors involved in Lahore’s Johar Town blast have been identified and arrested within four days after successful raids in different areas.

“All the terrorists involved in recce, installation of explosive material, blast, as well as the buyer of the vehicle and its handing over, have been arrested which is a big achievement of the Punjab government”, he said while addressing a press conference along with Law minister, Raja Basharat, SACM, Firdous Ashiq Awan, IGP Inam Ghani and CTD officials. 

The chief minister said a special investigation team was constituted by the Punjab government to investigate the Johar Town blast as it was a test case to identify and apprehend the terrorists and their facilitators.

“The CTD investigated on scientific grounds and the perpetrators of the blast were identified within 16 hours”, he said, adding that three persons lost their lives while 22 others were seriously injured in the Johar Town blast.  He said financial aid is being given to the injured and the martyrs’ heirs.

Usman Buzdar said that all the pieces of evidence had been gleaned from the local terrorists which proved that international characters were involved in terror financing of this terrorists’ network. He said that according to the facts, an agency of the enemy country was directly involved in this activity and it provided all the financial support to this network.

10 Pakistani male and female citizens arrested: IGP Inam Ghani

The CM expressed the satisfaction that the Punjab government traced all the high-profile cases and criminals have been brought under the net of the law. To a question, he said that Punjab Safe Cities Authority was performing well, and its cameras had also been replaced. The requirements of PSCA will be met on a priority basis, he assured.

Usman Buzdar told reporters that the explosive material was fixed in the backside of the vehicle and police as well as the CTD was sent quickly after the explosion. “Similarly, the ministers were deputed to ensure the best treatment for the injured and I also went to Jinnah Hospital to inquire after the patients. It was a challenge and we are thankful to Almighty Allah for achieving success”, he averred. He no alert was issued regarding the incident.

The CM also extended congratulations to the police, CTD and law enforcement agencies. IG Police Inam Ghani said he also examined the crime scene and Punjab Police and the CTD successfully dug out the whole network of terrorists. “All the members of this network are under the custody of the law; he added and disclosed that ten Pakistani male and female citizens, attached with this network have been arrested. The mastermind has also been identified, he said, adding that a joint investigation team was conducting investigations and arrested criminals will be given exemplary punishment.

To a question, he said no criminal involved in the terror incident was included in the fourth schedule.

“The vehicle snatched in 2010 was recovered in 2011 and now it was being used on ‘superdari’ (custody).

One arrested criminal from KPK fluently speaks Punjabi”, he said. IGP went on to say that the police stopped this vehicle and checked it at a picket and its footage was available. He said the last terrorist activity occurred in Punjab in November 2020. He said the Johar Town blast was aimed at creating a bad international image. However, the police and CTD worked hard to trace and arrest the terrorists, concluded the IG.

Law Minister Raja Basharat, SACM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, ACS (Home), Additional IG CTD and others were also present.

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab arrested a suspect along with his wife and kids allegedly involved in the car bomb blast outside the house of Jammat Ud Dawa (JuD) Chief Hafiz Saeed Ahmed in Johar Town Lahore, sources said on Monday.

The suspect identified as Eid Gul was rounded up by a team of CTD Lahore during a highly confidential raid on a house located in a private housing society in suburbs of Rawat and was moved to Lahore for further investigation, they said.

However, the police and other law enforcement agencies remained unaware about the raid carried out by the CTD Punjab commandos, sources said. According to sources, a team of commandos of CTD Punjab, in an intelligence-based information, have conducted a raid on a house located in Phase 8 of a private housing society in suburbs of Rawat and nabbed a suspect Eid Gul, his wife and kids for his alleged involvement in a car bomb blast outside the residence of Hafiz Saeed Ahmed, the JuD Chief. Sources disclosed that Eid Gul was the person who drove the explosive laden vehicle to the blast place and fled after parking the car there. They added the car used in the blast was given to suspect Eid Gul by a foreign national namely Peter Paul David, the one who was arrested by CTD Lahore during an action at Allama Iqbal International Airport (AIIAP) Lahore. They said it was also unearthed during the investigation that the car used in the bomb blast was purchased by Peter Paul David from a person residing in Gujranwala seven days before committing the crime in Johar Town.

A source in CTD revealed that Eid Gul and his wife were involved in a terrorism activity in Johar Town, Lahore. He said he rented out a house in a private housing society in Rawal area and was hiding there along with wife and kids. “Well, it is confirmed that CTD Lahore picked up a suspect of car bomb blast during a highly secret operation in Rawalpindi but I don’t know which was the place the terrorist was hiding,” said a senior officer of a security department while talking to The Nation.