JIT formed to probe Lahore bombing

Authorities have constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate Monday’s suicide blast which killed more than a dozen in Lahore.

According to reports, the investigation team is comprised of officials from the CID, ISI, IB and police.

The team will review statements of the injured and eyewitnesses and examine CCTV footages.

The blast apparently targeted police managing a busy protest at rush hour on Mall Road, one of Lahore’s main arteries. At least 13 people were killed, including six police officers, while more than 80 were injured.

A Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar which has vowed to attack government installations around the country had claimed responsibility for the assault.

The attack underscored the challenges faced by Pakistan in its push to stamp out militancy, even though security dramatically improved in 2015 and 2016.

Both the UK and the US branded the attack “cowardly” in separate statements, while the EU said it was “shocked and saddened” by the incident.

Lahore, the country’s cultural capital, suffered one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks in 2016 — a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar suicide bomb in a park last Easter that killed more than 70 including many children.

But such incidents have been rare in the city in recent years.

Cricket fans had been quick to voice fears that Monday’s explosion could derail plans to hold the highly anticipated final of the Pakistan Super League in Lahore.

Pakistan’s international tournaments have been held abroad for years out of security fears, and the second year of the popular Twenty20 tournament is ongoing in the United Arab Emirates.

Officials had already reassured international players they would receive “head of state” level protection in Lahore, with thousands of police deployed and bullet-proof buses.