ISLAMABAD: National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister Moeed Yusuf said in a media briefing that the recent Johar Town blast in Lahore had links to the country’s hostile neighbour.
The advisor said that India was involved in a blast in the provincial capital that left three dead and injured over twenty people.
“The main mastermind of the Johar Town blast is in India and is an Indian,” said the advisor, “The Johar town blast was masterminded by a RAW officer who is an Indian national and is residing in India, there was direct Indian sponsorship of this terrorist attack and have all the evidence.”
Moeed Yusuf said that the state agencies have a concrete evidence of trail, telephone records and banking records to establish the claim that the attack was indeed planned and managed from within India.
He further informed the media that cyberattacks from India were carried out on Pakistani state institutions right after this blast in an attempt to deflect attention but the cybersecurity was strong enough to thwart such attacks. He said that the Indian claims of drones flying in Indian territory were also an effort to divert attention away from the real issue.
The advisor also alleged that the execution of this attack was carried out by an Afghan national. Taking this opportunity he also addressed the issue of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan saying that the government has always maintained its stance in favour of a dignified return of the refugees to Afghanistan.
“There is concrete evidence against terrorists and their sponsors and the government will use all means to highlight this international network,” he concluded.
Context
Punjab IG Inam Ghani, during a media talk, also confirmed that the bombing happened near the residence of Hafiz Seed, the head of banned Jammat-ud-Dawa who is in jail over terror financing. Saeed is the founder of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba group.
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.
It was unclear whether the bombing caused any damage to his home, although the windows of dozens of homes were damaged. Authorities blocked passageways to Saeed’s home, citing security reasons, reported Associated Press.
Last year, Pakistan sentenced Saeed to 15 years in jail in a terror-financing case, but he was never charged in connection with the Mumbai attacks.
