CTD apprehended perpetrators, facilitators behind Lahore attack, Punjab IG

Punjab Police Chief was followed by NSA Moeed Yusuf who briefed the nation on intelligence gathered on the blast that took place in Lahore on June 23.

Before the Punjab IG briefing, Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary provided initial and opening details of the investigation of the event that killed at last three citizens and injured 22, including two policemen.

Ghani noted that the blast occurred at 11:09 am on June 23 in Block E of Johar Town and an IED was used.

He then went on to share a timeline of the events leading up to the blast. "On June 21, this car had no explosive material, but he (Eid Gul) did a dry run and inspected the area and checked all entry points," he said.

"On June 22, Gul does reconnaissance in a rickshaw and familiarises himself with the area. Gul is originally from Afghanistan but has lived in Punjab all his life so no one suspected him," said the IGP.

The explosion also destroyed 12 cars and seven houses.

According to the provincial police chief, the CTD has apprehended the main perpetrators behind the attack, as well as their facilitators.

"Punjab's CTD has long been working on counter-terrorism and is at that stage of maturity where it can very quickly and capably connect the dots. As a result of this, not only did they unearth the entire plan [by the terrorists] within 16 hours of the incident, but also identified the names of all those involved."

Sharing extracts of the information that has surfaced in the police investigation so far, IG Punjab said the funding for carrying out the attack "came from abroad".

"We have [identified] the person who was deputized the task to carry out the reconnaissance and execute the attack," said IGP Ghani, identifying the suspect as Eid Gul.

"He took the car from Peter and did a dry run in Lahore," he added, referring to another suspect.

A day after the blast, law-enforcement agencies had arrested Peter Paul David after off-loading him from a Karachi-bound flight.

He was said to be the owner of the car used in the blast.

The IG said that Gul had chosen to take the motorway to Lahore because the local police had no presence along the route.

"He spent the next 12 hours on the motorway, even rested at a rest area," he said, adding that they had verified the details of his journey by checking his entry and exit time stamps on the motorway.

Speaking about the nature of the blast, IG Ghani said that around 20 kilogrammes of explosive material was packed into the car. "It was fitted in such a way ... that the car was blown apart into several small pieces. This shows the expertise of the person who fit the bomb in the car," he said.