21 arrested for Wagah suicide attack

At least 21 people, including a suicide-bomber, were arrested on Monday and explosives and a suicide vest recovered from Wagah border area as entire Pakistan was put on red alert

November 03, 2014 07:20 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 05:50 pm IST - Lahore

BSF jawans keep vigil at Attari international border on Monday. Security has been tightened up after Sunday's suicide bomb attack at Wagah in Pakistan.

BSF jawans keep vigil at Attari international border on Monday. Security has been tightened up after Sunday's suicide bomb attack at Wagah in Pakistan.

At least 21 people, including a suicide-bomber, were arrested on Monday and explosives and a suicide vest recovered from Wagah border area as entire Pakistan was put on red alert after 61 people were killed in a deadly terror attack at the Indo-Pak land border crossing.

A Punjab Rangers official said that explosives and a suicide jacket had been found during a search operation in the area.

“The suicide vest stuffed with explosives and ball bearings has been defused by the bomb disposal squad,” he said.

The law enforcement agencies arrested 20 ‘suspects’ from the Wagah border areas during the search operation.

Lahore police spokesman Niyab Haider Naqvi said that the law enforcement agencies launched operation in the residential areas in Wagah after the attack and taken 20 suspects into custody.

“A joint investigation team of police, rangers and intelligence agencies have started its probe into the incident. The army and rangers along with police will provide security to Muharram processions in Lahore and they have been put on high alert in the wake of Sunday’s attack,” he said.

They also arrested a suspected suicide-bomber from Multan district, some 350 km from Lahore.

The Lahore police on Sunday issued a sketch of 17-year-old Abdul Rehman who had gone missing from a seminary in old city of Lahore for a month.

“The police along with an intelligence agency have raided a house in Multan district and arrested Abdul Rehman,” Mr. Naqvi said, adding Rehman has been shifted to unknown place for interrogation.

>At least 61 people, including 10 women, eight children and three security personnel, have died i n the attack that took place yesterday when a suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb at Wagah. Over 100 injured are being treated in different hospitals in Lahore.

Three militant factions, including splinter groups of the Taliban, have separately claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that took place after the popular flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah.

Al-Qaeda affiliated militant group Jundullah (Soldiers of Allah), a splinter group of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was the first to claim the attack.

Shortly afterwards Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said its bomber Hafiz Hanifullah carried out the attack. Later, a lesser-known Mahar Mehsud group also claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Hours after cancelling the beating retreat ceremony at Wagah following a deadly suicide attack, Pakistan on Monday allowed general public to view the popular ceremony.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.