The terrorists involved in the suicide attack on the Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines attack were being instructed by their handlers in Afghanistan, Pakistan Today has learnt.
On February 17, a bomb struck police lines in which six people lost their lives and another 26 were injured. The bomber had struck just metres away from the entrance of Police Lines on Empress Road in the heart of the city.
A police official of the investigation wing told Pakistan Today that after the bombing, a joint investigation team carried out geo-fencing of the crime scene which revealed that the terrorists had been in the Qila Gujjar Singh area for two days and were in contact with an outfit in Afghanistan from whom they were taking directions.
“The target of the terrorists was the police lines which they failed to achieve,” he said, adding that 11 alleged terrorists are being interrogated for their involvement in the incident.
The official rejected the claim of some media houses that a police official is also detained as a suspect. “The claim is baseless. No police official was involved in this suicide bombing neither any official is in our detention,” the official said.
Provincial Home Minister Shuja Khanzada told Pakistan Today that another 9 suspects had been taken into custody regarding the attack.
The TTP’s Jamaatul Ahrar faction had accepted responsibility for the deadly attack. The group’s spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan said the group dedicated the bombing to all those “who were dragged out of prisons and killed or hanged”.
“We want to make it clear to the rulers that we will take revenge for the blood of innocent Muslims,” Ehsan said in an emailed statement and warned of more such attacks.
