At least 10 people including four constables of Punjab Elite Force were martyred and over two dozen people sustained injuries as a suicide attacker blew himself up when security officials intercepted him for checking outside the Data Darbar on Wednesday morning. Police officials said the incident took place near a police mobile parked around the shrine's Gate No 2, the entrance for female visitors. According to CCTV footages, the attacker, wearing black 'shalwar qameez' and carrying a bag on his shoulder, blew himself up at 8:54am.
The spokesman for Punjab Chief Minister, Dr Shahbaz Gill, told reporters that the attacker was a 15-year-old boy. The teenager came out of a fruit shop, crossed over to the police van and then exploded himself, he said. Initially, it has come to the light that around seven kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast.
In a statement to Reuters, spokesman for Hizbul Ahrar militant group, a faction of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), Abdul Aziz Yousafzai, claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging: "This attack was carried out at a time when there were no civilians near the police." The velocity of the blast shattered the windows in nearby vehicles and buildings.
After the attack, a heavy contingent of police, Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), forensic and Rescue-1122 officials reached the spot and collected evidences. They immediately evacuated the shrine by moving out the devotees away from the blast site. The entry to the shrine has since been suspended.
The police identified the deceased constables as Muhammad Sohail, Shahid Nazir, Muhammad Saleem and Gulzar, Ali. Moreover, the rescuers shifted the injured ones to King Edward Medical University and Mayo Hospital where some patients were said to be in critical condition. An emergency was declared in both the hospitals.
Talking to reporters, Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Arif Nawaz Khan said that police were posted near the shrine around the clock to provide security. He said they had maintained a general security alert as there had been no specific warning about a threat to the shrine.
However, he admitted that it was a suicide attack targeting police officials. The IG also wondered that the attacker could have caused more damage because of the direction he had approached from, but he instead made a beeline for the police car stationed in the area for protection of the shrine. Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Ashfaq Khan said so far some 306 cops in Lahore only have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Later, the funeral prayers of all four martyred cops were offered at Police Lines Qilla Gujjar Singh. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar IGP Amjad Saleemi besides a number of ministers and top officials of civil administration attended the funeral. A guard of honour was also presented to the martyred. The IGP had directed all the Regional Police Officers (RPOs) and city police officers to examine security arrangements in their respective areas and remain alert during the month of Ramadan.
According to a statement, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar while condemning the attack sought reports from the IG Police and the additional chief secretary of interior. Buzdar also postponed his scheduled visits to Bhakkar, Sargodha and Sheikhupura and chaired a security meeting at Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) Headquarters.
Prime Minister Imran Khan also condemned the loss of lives in the attack, expressing grief and condoling with the victims' families for their loss. PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and Awami National Party General Secretary Ameer Hoti also condemned the attack.
Expressing grief, Shahbaz said: "The peace that prevailed in the last five years needs to be restored in the country." "Terrorists have no religion. The government and law enforcement agencies should be worried about such incidents of terrorism," Hoti said. In 2010, a pair of suicide attacks at the popular 11th century Sufi shrine had killed and wounded dozens of people. Since then, the area has been increasingly hemmed in by heavy security, with visitors forced to pass through several layers of screening before they can enter the complex.
Over the last two years, Lahore has been free of the kind of attacks that were once common. An attack in the city in March last year left nine people dead while a major blast in a park in 2016 targeting Christians celebrating Easter killed more than 70 people.
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