ISLAMABAD, May 8: Special Assistant to Prime Minster on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has strongly condemned the incident of blast near Lahore’s Data Darbar.
In a statement Wednesday, Firdous said those who target shrines are enemies of Islam and Pakistan and they are conspiring to stoke destabilization in the country.
The special assistant expressed deep grief and condolence to families of martyrs. She said nation, armed forces, rangers, police and other law enforcement agencies have sacrificed to curb the menace of terrorism.
Reaffirming the resolve against terrorism, she said our nation has remained steadfast against the terrorists. Earlier today, a suicide attack targeted a vehicle of police elite force in the immediate vicinity of Data Darbar in Lahore.
Rescue 1122 officials and police officers rushed to the spot along with a heavy convoy of police forces, and began operation and investigation, respectively. The injured persons were shifted to nearby hospitals, where an emergency has been imposed, for their treatment.
Some of the patients are said to be critical. The explosion took place close to police vehicles near Gate 2 of Data Darbar. One of the vehicles was completely destroyed.
The shrine has been targeted previously, in a 2010 suicide attack that killed more than 40 people, and is guarded by heavy security. An attack in Lahore in March last year left nine people dead, while a major blast targeting Christians celebrating Easter in a park in 2016 killed more than 70 people. -Agencies
