Blast hits federal investigative agency in Pakistan

Islamabad: At least 12 people were killed and more than 60 injured on Monday in a suicide car bombing in Lahore, capital of Pakistan's central province of Punjab, provincial authorities said.

About a dozen of the injured were said to be in critical condition and the death toll could rise, the head of the local administration in Lahore, Commissioner Khusro Pervez, told the media.

The blast in an affluent part of Model Town area in Lahore targeted the building of Special Investigation Agency (SIA), a provincial law-enforcement agency that investigates high-value detainees, said a senior government official in Lahore.

Provincial police chief, Inspector General Tarek Azeem, said a vehicle loaded with estimated 600 kilogrammes of explosive rammed into the building of the agency. The blast caused a crater which was 8 feet deep and 15 feet wide.

The building collapsed and many of the victims were pulled out from the debris by rescue workers. The explosion caused damage to houses in the area and police said eight of the dead were women.

Interior Minister Rehman Malek, talking to reporters in Islamabad said, the target was the Special Investigative Agency and not the building of the Federal Investigation Agency, also located in the township.

Asked who could be behind the attack, the minister said the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied extremist groups had been involved in a spate of terrorism in the country.

Malek pointed an accusing finger at India, saying the weapons and material seized by the security forces during the operations in tribal areas along the Afghan border bore Indian signature.

He said his ministry had compiled the evidence and it would be taken up whenever the two sides meet in future.

The minister said the backbone of terrorists had been broken and the successful crackdowns by security forces and law-enforcement agencies would lead to their complete elimination.

Lahore had witnessed a series of deadly attacks last year, in which Federal Investigation Agency building and police training facilities were targeted. Yesterday's car bombing broke a lull in the wave of terror attacks.

Punjab Law Minister Sanaullah said the damages to private houses would be assessed and the government would consider paying compensation.

He said the provincial government would also consider relocating the premises of sensitive agencies away from residential areas in view of the terrorist threat.

Coordinated

Reports said the United Nations' resident coordinator in Pakistan has approached the ministry of foreign affairs for extra protection to 15 UN offices in different parts of Islamabad.

In recent months the ministry has repeatedly warned foreign diplomatic missions to exercise extra vigilance in view of the security situation obtaining in the country. On their part, the authorities have already enhanced security around the missions.

Will this ever end? Is this creating further problems within Pakistan?