Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar Friday held an “evil country” responsible for the terror attack in Sialkot that took place earlier this week.
The provincial police chief’s statement comes two days after three assailants shot dead two people and injured an imam in a mosque within the limits of Sadder Police Station in Daska, one of the four tehsils in Sialkot.
“A terrorist attack took place in Pakistan, which was planned in another country,” Dr Anwar said, speaking during a presser in Lahore. He, however, didn’t mention the country.
The police official maintained that the involvement of external elements in the attack was confirmed from the crime scene, while the “accused were arrested” and will be produced in a court of law soon.
According to a report by The News, the assailants in Wednesday’s attack had entered Masjid Al Noor at Mundayke during Fajr prayers and opened fire at people praying.
As a result, the mosque in charge Shahid Mehmood and security guard Hashim were martyred, while Imam Abdul Waheed received bullet injuries.
Soon after the incident, District Police Officer Sialkot Hassain Iqbal reached the spot and ordered investigations.
Giving an update on the probe today, the Punjab police chief said that the culprits behind the terror activity were traced within 24 hours, while the allegations against Pakistan were proven false.
“The conspiracy against Pakistan was planned abroad. The evidence against the accused will be presented in court,” Dr Usman said.
He resolved to expose the terrorists and their facilitators before the world, claiming to prove the “evil country”, which is the enemy of peace in Pakistan in the next press conference.
Terrorism in Pakistan
For the past year now, Pakistan has been gripped by a spate of terror attacks, with Balochistan and KP particularly being under the radar of militants targeting security forces and civilians to deteriorate peace.
Earlier this month, a quarterly report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said close to 386 personnel — including 137 army and 208 cops — have lost their lives in the first nine months of 2023 in the fight against terrorism, largely in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, putting it on an eight-year high.
