Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 23: A powerful car bomb went off outside the house in Lahore, Pakistan, of internationally declared terrorist and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed on Wednesday killing at least three people and injuring over 20 others, police said.
The blast took place at a police picket outside Saeed’s residence at the BOR Society in Jauhar Town.
The chief of the banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Saeed is supposed to be spending his days in the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore serving the sentences awarded to him for terror financing cases but the blast raised suspicions that he could actually be in the house at the time. The suspicion has risen particularly because of the way the police reacted to the incident. Inspector-General of Police (Punjab) Inam Ghani said there could have been a “major loss” had there been no police picket outside the house of the high-profile personality, referring to Saeed.
His reference to “major loss” could easily be gauged knowing the importance the Pakistani government give to Saeed and such high-profile terrorists in the country for keeping India engaged on the terror front.
Ghani said three people were killed in the car bomb blast while more than 20 others were injured.
“Explosive material was installed in the car. There was a police picket outside the high-value target’s house. The car could not cross the police picket,” Ghani said, describing it as “a terror” act.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has taken over the blast site and investigating from all aspects, he said. “The CTD will determine whether the blast was a suicide blast, if a device was used,” he added.
Ghani also claimed that “hostile” intelligence agencies could be involved in this blast.
The injured people have been shifted to the Jinnah Hospital where the condition of six of them is said to be critical. “The injured also include policemen. The condition of six injured of the 17 admitted to hospital is critical,” said Dr Yahya Sultan of Jinnah Hospital.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid directed the Punjab chief secretary and IG to submit a report. “The nature of the blast is being determined,” he said, adding that the federal agencies are assisting the Punjab government in the investigation.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar instructed that those responsible for the explosion be brought to justice and the best possible medical aid be provided to the injured.
It was a powerful blast that damaged a number of houses, shops and vehicles in the area. A roof of a house caved in because of the impact of the blast, rescue teams said.
According to police, a rickshaw and motorcycles parked nearby were completely destroyed by the blast. The sound of the blast was so loud that it was heard faraway.
The 71-year-old radical cleric is believed to be serving a jail sentence at the Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore for his conviction in terror financing cases. However, the Pakistani government is known to have often allowed the convict to live at his residence while claiming before the international community that the global terrorist was undergoing punishment.
Saeed, an UN-designated terrorist whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty on, has been convicted for 36 years imprisonment in five terror financing cases. His punishment is running concurrently. Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. He was listed under the UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
The global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is instrumental in pushing Pakistan to take measures against terrorists roaming freely in Pakistan and using its territory to carry out attacks in India.