While Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed and provincial police chief announced progress in netting those involved in Wedneday’s Johar Town bomb explosion, the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) has a backlog of solving at least four cases of terrorist attacks that took place in the city in recent years.
The incidents included an explosion in a rickshaw near Chauburji in November 2019 that had left 10 people injured.
The rickshaw driver told police that a passenger carrying a shopping bag had asked him to stop near Chauburji, saying he had to go to toilet. The explosion took place after the suspect went away from the vehicle.
Over one and a half years have passed but the investigators are yet to trace the prime suspect, facilitators and modus operandi of the explosion. The driver had told police that the suspect had hailed the ride a few kilometers away from the spot where the explosion took place.
Initial investigation suggested the use of a suicide vest as the police found ball-bearings and shrapnel from the crime scene.
The same remained the case with an explosion on Outfall Road in a truck laden with fruit in August 2017. The explosion took place on the route of a planned procession led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. More than 40 people were injured.
The truck had been parked in a parking several days before the incident. Local people had even lodged a complaint to the area police about the suspicious vehicle.
The CTD found out during the investigation that the vehicle had been registered on the basis of forged documents, while another truck with the same number plate was still on the roads, transporting goods.
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It also transpired during the investigation that the vehicle had a forged chassis number.
CTD investigators found excise and taxation officials involved in issuing fake registration numbers to vehicles through corrupt means.
Another inquiry was conducted and a massive scandal of forging documents to register auctioned vehicles was unearthed.
Despite the developments, the prime suspects and facilitators of the attack were not identified.
The investigators have found similarities in the Johar Town and Outfall Road incidents.
A suicide attack on Bedian Road in April 2017 on a census team claimed six lives, while 26 people, most of them police personnel, died in a bomb explosion on Ferozpur Road three months layer.
The authorities have not yet shared the details of the investigations into the incidents.
Earlier, an explosion in a cafe in DHA in February 2017 had left eight people dead. Initially, the CTD claimed to have found traces of explosives from the scene.
However, the police declared later that it was a gas cylinder explosion and closed the case after filing a report of an accident.
In the last week of May, the Counter-Terrorism Department Punjab conducted 46 intelligence-based operations across Punjab and arrested three terrorists.
During the operations, around 47 suspects were interrogated and three suspected terrorists namely Muhammad Ibrahim, Shabar Raza and M Qasim were arrested. Muhammad Ibrahim alias Japani, son of Din Muhammad, was arrested from Rajanpur.
He belonged to BRA and was planning to attack government installations, main transmission lines and gas pipelines. Officials seized one IED, 438kg explosives, fuses, prima cord, detonators, one Kalashnikov and Rs29,2000 in cashed which were given to him by Ferrari Commander Afzal alias Mujahid for carrying out attacks on government installations.
Shabar Raza, son of Muhammad Hanif, was arrested from Jhang. He belonged to TTP and was planning terrorist activity. One IED was recovered from his possession. M Qasim, son of M Akram, belonged to defunct SSP.
He was running sectarian websites and uploading hate material on social media against different sects.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2021.
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