Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday said that terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners, and abettors, including from outside, would be hunted across the country, held accountable and responded to.

“Our gains over the years cannot be reversed,” he said while chairing a security meeting at the Corps Headquarters Lahore. Lahore Corps Commander Lieutenant General Sadiq Ali briefed him on Monday night’s blast, according to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Speaking on the occasion, the army chief said that such incidents could “neither lower our national resolve nor could affect our ongoing efforts against terrorism”.

He appreciated the efforts of intelligence agencies in tracing the culprits of Monday night’s blast, which resulted in important arrests overnight, including a few Afghan nationals.

He directed the officials to expedite efforts to unearth the complete network of terrorists. Talking about its linkage to sabotage the forthcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) final match in Lahore, the COAS said that the army would extend full support to all those concerned for holding the event as scheduled.

Later, the COAS visited the bereaved family of slain DIG Mobin and offered fateha.

Talking to mother of the slain police official, the COAS said that the sacrifice of her brave son and those by the nation would not go waste. “We have to defeat this inhuman brutal mindset and as a nation we shall,” he said.

He also offered condolences to other bereaved families of the blast victims. The COAS also visited the injured at Services Hospital.

It should be noted that a terrorist attack near the Punjab Assembly in Lahore on Monday claimed at least 13 lives, including two top police officials of the province.

The government failed to thwart the deadly suicide attack despite intelligence reports and threat alerts from the Interior Ministry. The suicide bomber killed at least 13 people, including Traffic DIG Capt (r) Mobin and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zahid Gondal, who were talking to the protesting chemists. Around 108 people were injured in the bombing on The Mall, several of whom are still fighting for their lives, according to hospital sources.

“The incident occurred as hundreds of chemists protested a new law near the Punjab Assembly building,” Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told the media. Capt Mobin was holding talks with members of the Pakistan Pharmaceuticals Association to end the association’s sit-in on The Mall when the blast occurred.