LAHORE – Lahore Police on Friday has tightened security at and around all shrines located in the city after a low intensity time device went off just outside the shrine of Baba Haider Saien on Thursday night.
On other hand police investigators have failed to find clues on a suspect for the blast outside shrine of Darbar Baba Haider Saien. Lahore Police sources said that seeing no other way to stop suicide bombers and terrorists have beefed up further security at around 1,000 shrines situated in different parts of the provincial metropolis to provide security cover to the visitors by sacrificing their own lives.
Lahore Police also deputed around 7,000 officials at mosques during Friday prayers to provide a sense of security. However, the City Police Division Investigation Team could not make any breakthrough in the investigations with no suspects arrested till the filing of this report on Friday. A senior police officer confirmed that the official death toll was two and all injured were stable.
He confirmed the bomb was a remote control time device planted near the shrine’s main gate. The device exploded at around 11 pm on Thursday. It was a half kilogram bomb and contained ball barring’s and shrapnel. Another police investigator suggested there was no way to stop bombing other than cordoning off sensitive areas and putting police men on threat.
Each of the city’s 1,000 shrines is now threatened after the security sensitive especially on the occasion of Urs. He revealed that threats were received daily and police were trying their best. A threat to the shrines of Mian Mir and Bibi Pakdamana existed and a ‘foolproof security plan for the Urs of Mian Mir had been chalked out.’ The Urs is scheduled for the 13th of February.
The body of one of the two deceased from the Baba Haider Sain shrine blast was shifted to his hometown in Burewala, Vehari. The second deceased was yet to be identified. SP Investigation City Division Ijaz Shafi Dogar confirmed no breakthrough in Baba Haider Sain Darbar blast investigation. He said they suspected a network of terrorists. To a question, the SP said that the blasts were intended to scare people of shines but people would remain resolute and observe religious festivals.
It is learnt that City Division Police has finalized plans to launch massive crackdown in Walled City especially areas located around Urdu Bazaar. Sources said police had unanimously decided that the attacker, which had blown himself on Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A) Chehlum, had been residing in the Urdu Bazaar.
Police officials have been directed to be vigilant with several arrested. Shafiqabad Police arrested one suspect, Qasim, from Ameen Park Area on a tip off of a source, Tariq. Sources believe that Qasim was involved in facilitating terrorists.
One thousand insecure shrines
