ISLAMABAD: Lahore police hunting the perpetrators behind Wednesday’s blast in a residential neighbourhood arrested one of the suspects, Counter-Terrorism Department confirmed Thursday.
A powerful explosion went off near the residence of Hafiz Saeed, the jailed chief of proscribed Jamatud Dawa organisation, killing at least three people and wounding 25 others.
The development was confirmed hours after Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed announced that security forces were on the verge of making an arrest.
The man was arrested from Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore as he was trying to leave the country, said Suhail Ahmad, a security official who is familiar with the investigations. He identified the man as David Peter.
Ahmad refused to share any further details. He said the government will issue a statement about a breakthrough that was achieved by the CTD with the help of the intelligence agencies.
In his video statement, Rasheed said that officials had achieved “great success” during the initial investigation. “Punjab police will soon arrest the suspects and give good news to the people,” he assured.
جو ہرٹاون دھماکہ پر ویڈیو بیان
پنجاب پولیس نے جوہر ٹاون دھماکے کی تحقیقات میں زبردست کامیابی حاصل کی ہے
پنجاب پولیس ملزمان کی گرفتاری کے قریب ہے
پنجاب پولیس جلد ملزمان کو قانون کی گرفت میں لیکر عوام کو اچھی خبر سنائی گے pic.twitter.com/O4ZtmzbMWE— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) June 24, 2021
In a video shared alongside the tweet, the interior minister said: “During the tenure of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country has achieved political and economic stability,” adding that Islamabad’s enemies could not “tolerate” this.
The enemy had resorted to terrorist routes, he said but assured that they would be defeated.
“We have completed 86 percent of fencing work on the Afghanistan border and 46 percent of the work on the border with Iran,” he said.
The fencing of the Afghanistan border would be completed in a month and a half, Rasheed further said. While the fencing of the Iran border will be completed this year, he added.
IG CONFIRMS BLAST HAPPENED NEAR SAEED’S RESIDENCE:
Punjab police chief Inam Ghani told had reporters that authorities were still trying to determine whether it was a suicide bombing or the bomb was remotely detonated. “It was a car bomb, but we are still trying to confirm whether it was a suicide bombing,” he said.
He also confirmed that the bombing happened near Saeed’s residence. Saeed has been designated a terrorist by the US Justice Department and has a $10 million bounty on his head.
Television footage showed badly damaged homes, and many residents spoke of a bomb attack. Doctors say some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Ghani said police were guarding Saeed’s house at the time of the attack. He said the attackers might have succeeded in targeting Saeed’s home had police not set up a security post in the street where the bombing happened.
In November, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced Saeed to 15 years in jail on two charges of terrorism financing.
Saeed has been arrested and released several times over the past decade. He denies any involvement with militancy, including the 2008 Mumbai siege in which 160 people were killed, including Americans.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
