Punjab Police Makes Headway In Identifying Culprits Involved In Johar Town Blast

On Thursday, Sheikh Rashid, the Interior Minister, stated that the law enforcement authorities in Punjab have significantly progressed in identifying the culprits behind the blast that occurred in Johar Town. The officials in charge added that they are very close to finding the people responsible. 

In a video statement, the Interior Minister asserted that the police in Punjab will soon be giving good news to the people of the country. He added that arrests will also be made in a couple of days. He remarked that people seeking to spread unrest in the country and want to see it under pressure, will not be successful in their malicious plans. 

Rashid went on to add that Pakistan is not the kind of country to come under pressure. He maintained that economic and political stability has spread across the country during the tenure of the current Prime Minister, Imran Khan. He claimed that this fact is something that enemies of Pakistan do not appreciate at all.

The Interior Minister was of the opinion that the enemies of the country, disliking the progress that it is making, have resorted to acts of terrorism. However, he added that their efforts will be in vain because Pakistan is as strong as ever. He called them out, saying that the country will not be weakened by their acts and instead, will continue to thrive despite unfortunate events.

He further revealed that 86% of fencing has been successfully completed on the Afghan border, whereas 46% of fencing has been done on the Iranian border. 

Just a day ago, three people lost their lives, and 21 people, inclusive of children and women, sustained serious injuries. This happened due to the explosion of a vehicle, which was laden with explosives. The incident occurred in close proximity of the house of Hafiz Saeed, the man who leads the banned party of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), in Johar Town of Lahore.

Top police officials came to investigate but were uncertain regarding the nature of the blast. The medics on the scene revealed that the people injured were hit mainly by ball-bearing shrapnel. Inam Ghani, the chief of Punjab police, described the incident as an ‘unfortunate terrorist act’. He also said that the nature of the explosion will soon come to light, once the scene is fully analyzed by experts. 

Several vehicles and buildings, located in close proximity of the explosion, were extremely damaged. Witnesses stated that many victims had been lying in pools of blood and the cries for help echoed throughout the area. There was a lot of dust in the area, in the aftermath of the blast, which caused a delay in help to reach the victims. 

After conducting a preliminary investigation, the investigators suggested that nearly 25 to 30 kilograms of explosives were used in the incident. This was concluded considering the five feet wide and three feet deep crater left at the spot. The shrapnel had flown around 500 meters from the location of the blast.