Terrorism-related Incidents in Lahore - 2008

Date

Incident

January 10

At least 24 people, including 17 policemen, were killed and 80 others injured in a suicide bomb blast outside the Lahore High Court, minutes before the arrival of an anti-government lawyers’ procession. The blast ripped through GPO Chowk in front of the Lahore High Court as the suicide bomber walked up to the about 60 riot police – who had gathered there ahead of a protest by lawyers against President Pervez Musharraf’s Government – and blew himself up.

January 19

A blast outside the house of PML-N Balochistan President Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasir partially damaged his house in Loralai in Lahore. However, no casualties were reported.

February 4

Punjab Home Secretary Khusro Pervaiz Khan said that security agencies had arrested three alleged would-be suicide bombers and seized suicide jackets and explosives from their possession. He told a private television channel that the arrested "suicide bombers" had disclosed that four more suicide bombers had entered southern Punjab and Lahore to target politicians.

February 26

Lahore Police arrested four members of the banned Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) from Nawankot bus stand in the Kotwali area and seized from them explosives and weapons. They were identified as Muhammad Asif Ali alias Hasan Moosa, Abdur Rahman, Mureed Ahmad and Fahad Munir. Police officials said Munir was the nephew of LeJ leader Riaz Basra.

March 4

Eight persons were killed and 24 others sustained injuries when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the parking area of the Pakistan Navy War College in Lahore. The incident occurred at around 1:10 pm (PST) when classes in the Pakistan Navy War College were in progress.

March 5

Lahore Police arrested at least 13 persons in connection with the March 4-suicide attack on the Naval War College.

March 6

Lahore Police arrested three suspected suicide bombers of a defunct militant outfit who were planning attacks on prominent personalities. They also recovered 50-kilogram explosive material, four suicide jackets, two bottles of explosive chemical and a bundle of electric detonators from their possession. They were identified as Abdul Majid Rashid alias Wali Hasan of Rahimyar Khan, Qamar Saleem of Gujranwala and Nadeem Shehzad alias Qari of Kot Radha Kishan. However, their group identity was not disclosed.

March 11

At least 30 people were killed and more than 200 sustained injuries in suicide blasts at the FIA headquarters and an advertising agency office in Lahore. The first attack was carried out at the FIA regional headquarters on Temple Road, severely damaging the eight-storey establishment and adjacent buildings. The building also housed the offices of a special US-trained unit created to counter terrorism. The second attack was carried out on Bungalow No 83/F in Model Town – the office of an advertising agency. Two children and a gardener died in the bombing and about 12 people were injured.

March 12

Police arrested more than 50 suspects in province-wide raids in connection with the suicide attacks in Lahore on March 11, and were investigating whether al Qaeda was behind the attacks. Police sources said the suspects, most of them from banned militant groups, were arrested from Lahore, Faisalabad, Okara, Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur.

March 27

A joint team of intelligence agencies and Lahore Police arrested two alleged terrorists for facilitating the suicide bombings at GPO and the Pakistan Naval War College. Police said that they had seized a "huge quantity of explosives", including suicide vests, detonators, and ball bearings, from the suspected terrorists’ possession. The duo, identified as Muhammad Shahzad and Nadim Hussain, were members of the South Waziristan-based militant organisation Tanzeem Jihad Islami.

June 17

Law-enforcement agencies arrested 14 terror suspects from Lahore and Rawalpindi and seized more than 330-kilogrammes of explosives from them.

July 3

Security agencies arrested five suspected Lashkar-e-Islam militants in Lahore for allegedly plotting suicide attacks. The suspects were arrested from an apartment at Akbar Chowk along with suicide-bomb jackets, explosives, weapons and two vans.

July 9

Lahore Police arrested four alleged terrorists with links to banned militant groups and recovered a large quantity of explosives from them.

July 15

Lahore Police arrested three alleged would-be suicide bombers, identified as Qari Muhammad Basit, Mullah Mir and an unidentified accomplice. The alleged bombers had intended to target important public buildings and foreign installations and the Chuhng Investigation Centre. Police also seized huge quantities of explosive material, ball bearings, detonators, remote controls and two jackets from the arrested men. Maps of some important buildings in the city were also found.

August 8

Lahore Police arrested eight suspected terrorists involved in last year’s Sargodha Police Lines and PAF bus attacks. They were identified as Muhammad Mohsin alias Amir Hamza, Dilshad Ali, Saifullah, Babar Usman, Nasrullah, Zahid Iqbal, Muhammad Usman and Muhammad Shahid. Explosives, 10 grenades, two rocket launchers, two Kalashnikovs and other weapons were recovered from them.

August 13

A suicide blast in Lahore killed at least nine persons and injured more than 35, targeting policemen standing guard on the eve of the Independence Day. The attack took place at the busy Dubai Chowk in the Allama Iqbal Town area at about 11:34pm, as citizens poured into the streets before midnight to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Pakistan’s independence, which falls on August 14.

September 25

A hoax call about the presence of a bomb on a Karachi-bound Pakistan International Airlines flight created panic among security personnel and passengers at Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore

October 7

Three remote-controlled bombs exploded one after the other in three juice shops in the Garhi Shahu area of Lahore injuring seven persons, including two children and a woman. The first bomb went off in the Chhino Juice Corner near the Garhi Shahu Chowk, injuring two waiters, aged 12 and 14. Rescue officials said shopkeepers were asked to shut down and evacuate the area. Fifteen minutes later, the second explosion occurred in the Rehman Juice Corner, which had been closed. The third bomb exploded after another 15 minutes in the Dasco Juice Corner, injuring passers-by.

November 22

At least three people, including a teenager, were injured in a series of three explosions near the Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore, where the international World Performing Arts Festival was in progress. Police said at least one of the explosions at 10:02pm (PST) might be of a timed device planted in the cafeteria in the basement of the adjacent Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture. Rescuers said police and officials were trying to locate the bombing site when another explosion occurred less than 15 minutes later, injuring two workers. Another 15 minutes later, a third explosion took place outside the Alhamra Cultural Complex gate, injuring a 13-year-old boy.

December 12

In Lahore, divisional superintendents of Police took surety bonds from the JuD operatives. Multan Police sealed a Jama’at-ud-Da’awa office at Rasheedabad Chowk, and a school and a dispensary on Tareen Road in a midnight operation. Police also sealed the group’s offices in south Punjab cities of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Arifwala, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal, and arrested one operative each from Arifwala and Rajanpur.

December 24

A woman, identified as Farzana Bibi, was killed and five other people injured as a mini-truck packed with explosives blew up in GOR-II area of Lahore, police officials said. The windows of nearby houses were shattered, while several walls collapsed. A transformer also exploded. Superintendent of Police Umar Virk said a mini-cabin with about 10-kilogrmas of explosives blew up on the road. Forensic experts said the explosives were detonated by remote or a timer device. The vehicle was completely destroyed. Police said the vehicle, belonging to the Fisheries Department, was stolen on November 19. The target of the Lahore blast was likely a police officer who had headed an operation that led to the death of a leader of LeJ in 2002, and lived nearby.