COAS condemns Lahore attack, orders arrest of culprits

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa while condemning the terrorist attack in Lahore expressed grief over the loss of innocent lives, ISPR said in a statement.

General Bajwa instructed local Army commander and intelligence agencies to provide all necessary assistance to the civil administration in evacuation of injured to hospitals.

The COAS also directed the officials to apprehend those responsible for this heinous act.

At least 14 people, including senior police officers, were martyred when a suspected suicide bomber hit close to the Punjab Assembly in Lahore on Monday when hundreds of demonstrators had gathered for a protest.

The owners of medical stores in Punjab had announced a demonstration near the Punjab Assembly building to protest the drug rules of the provincial government. The powerful explosion hit when hundreds of protestors were present at the location.

CCPO Lahore Ameen Vaince confirmed that Chief Traffic Officer Ahmed Mobeen has been martyred in the incident. Senior Superintendent of Police Zahid Gondal was also martyred in the attack.

Following the attack, police said that security has been put on red alert in Islamabad.

The Inspector-General of Police Islamabad issued directives for the red alert, following which all routes going in and coming out of the federal capital were being strictly monitored.