Gunmen torch 2 buses in Lahore, IJT suspected

Police suspect IJT members may be behind incident as they have been protesting against murder of their fellow.

LAHORE:
Unidentified gunmen torched two buses in the Samnabad and Township areas of Lahore on Friday. Express News reported that police sources had claimed the gunmen were members of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami.

Eyewitnesses said that the gunmen had stopped buses by opening fire in front of them. They got on the bus and warned all passengers to get off or they would set it on fire with them inside. The gunmen were carrying 1.5 litre bottles of fuel, which they used to torch one of the buses from the inside.

Both incidents took place within half an hour.

An eyewitness said that rescue sources had arrived to extinguish the fire, but had to leave after they ran out of water and then they came back half an hour later. The police, however, had arrived at the spot immediately, he added.


The police are suspecting that IJT members are behind this incident as they have been protesting against the murder of their fellow during a clash between two student wings earlier this week. On Friday, IJT members clashed with the police in front of the Punjab University Old Campus on Mall Road. Police dispersed the protesters by using tear gas and pelting stones.

The police claimed arresting around a dozen students during the clash.

Jamiat members had claimed that Abrar Wattoo had killed Awais Aqeel on Sunday night, and alleged that Watto was being protected by the authorities.

The protesting students had also lashed out against the administration of Punjab University after they claimed that Aqeel was not a “regular” student at the university.
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