Pakistan, on Sunday, accused an Indian citizen of being the mastermind behind the June 23 bomb blast in Lahore near terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed’s home. Calling the bomb blast an act of “India-sponsored terrorism”, Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf said that they had “concrete evidence” of the Indian citizen being linked to the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). The Indian government has not yet responded to the claims made by the neighboring country.
Following the accusation, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan targetted India and said that the “planning & financing of this heinous terror attack has links to Indian sponsorship of terrorism against Pak. “. He further called on the international community to mobilize institutions against “this rogue behavior”.
I instructed my team to brief nation on findings of Johar Town, Lahore blast investigation today. I appreciate the diligence & speed of Punjab Police’s Counter Terrorism Dept in unearthing the evidence & commend the excellent coordination of all our civil & mly Intel agencies.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 4, 2021
The claims were made by the Pakistani NSA while addressing the media with the chief of Pakistan’s Punjab police, Inam Ghani, and the country’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry. Moeed added that they had intelligence and evidence, including financial and telephone records to prove their claims.
The police chief, meanwhile, talked of a certain Peter Paul David, who he called the “lynchpin” which links the bomb blast to people outside Pakistan. “Peter arranged the car used in the blast,” he claimed.
The NSA further said that the Pakistani government had found the fake names, real identities, and location of the suspects. Coordinated attacks were also carried out on the country’s information structure so that investigation could not be carried out in the Lahore bombing case, Moeed Yusuf claimed at the press conference.
Notably, on June 23, Pakistan’s Lahore was struck by a car bomb blast outside the home of LeT commander Hafiz Saeed, killing 3 citizens. The accusation comes at a time when India and Pakistan are understood to be in secret backchannel talks at the NSA level.