PM orders indiscriminate operation in bordering areas of Punjab after Lahore blast
The meeting came in less than 24 hours of suicide attack in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park
LAHORE (Dunya News/AFP) – Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif has ordered an immediate security operation in areas that border Punjab to counter possible threats after Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park suicide blast, Dunya News reported Monday.
Prime Minister chaired a meeting attended by Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and others.
The meeting came in less than 24 hours of suicide attack in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park that claimed 72 lives and left over 300 wounded. Different law enforcement agencies including Rangers and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) will conduct the operation.
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The Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister reviewed Lahore terror attack and over all strategy against terrorists. pic.twitter.com/r1udePzt9g
— PML(N) [Official] (@pmln_org) March 28, 2016
Prime Minister earlier today reached Lahore and paid visits to Jinnah Hospital and Services Hospital to inquire about conditions of the injured.
Know more: PM Nawaz visits Lahore blast s injured at Jinnah Hospital
Prime Minister stated on Sunday that his heart bleeds over the untoward incident. Grieving the loss, PM Nawaz added that terrorists had targeted the sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of the nation.
The Prime Minister cancelled his visit to London and would be leaving for the United States (US) after two days.
Faction of Taliban has claimed responsibility of the attack stating that the target was Christian community on Easter.
We carried out the Lahore attack as Christians are our target," Ehansullah Ehsan, spokesman for the hardline Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
He said the group would carry out more such attacks, vowing to target schools and colleges alongside government and military interests.
Know also: UN chief condemns appalling Lahore park bombing
The attack was the worst so far this year in a country well-used to large-scale atrocities, and will further undermine already-fractious community ties in the huge Muslim-majority nation.
Witnesses described children screaming as people carried the injured in their arms, while frantic relatives searched for loved ones.
"We had gone to the park to enjoy the Easter holiday. There was a blast suddenly, I saw a huge ball of fire and four to six people of my family are injured. Two of them critical," 53-year-old Arif Gill told AFP.
Rescue spokeswoman Deeba Shahbaz said the toll had risen to 72 Monday, with 29 children among the dead. Senior police official Haider Ashraf confirmed the number killed, adding the majority of the dead were Muslims.
"Everybody goes to this park," he said.
Many wounded children were taken to Lahore s Jinnah Hospital, some clearly in pain as doctors examined injuries to their legs, arms and faces Monday.
Doctors had described frenzied scenes at hospitals in the immediate aftermath of the attack, with staff treating casualties on floors and in corridors, as officials tweeted calls for blood donations.
