On 23 June 2021, a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

explode An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

d in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, killing three people.

Bombing

On 23 June 2021, about 11 am local time, a car bombing took place in

Johar Town Johar Town ( Punjabi/ ur, , ''Shahrak-e-Johar'') is a residential neighborhood and union council (UC 114) located in Iqbal Tehsil of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

believe that the target was the house which was damaged in the bombing. It is believed to be where

Hafiz Saeed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ( ur, , born 5 June 1950) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist who co-founded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based Islamist militant organization that is List of designated terrorist groups, designated as a terrorist grou ...

, co-founder of

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

and the chief of

Jama'at-ud-Da'wah Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

was living at the time. An estimated 30kg of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s were used.

Investigation

Over the next two days, raids were conducted to arrest the suspects. They were later charged with explosives offences. Later, a foreign national identified as Peter Paul David, was offloaded from a

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

-bound flight and shifted to an undisclosed location for

interrogation Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful informa ...

. He had been shuttling between Karachi, Lahore and

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

frequently, while he could not satisfy the investigators about the purpose of these visits and his activities. The car used in the blast had been sold further multiple times and David was its last owner, who handed over his car to one his friend for a couple of days use and has not seen his face as he was masked. Punjab Chief Minister

Usman Buzdar Sardar Usman Ahmad Khan Buzdar ( ur, ; born 1 May 1969) is a Pakistani politician and previously served as Chief Minister of The Punjab from 20 August 2018 to 30 April 2022. He has been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab since Aug ...

has said "a foreign hostile agency was directly involved in the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

incident and had also provided the financial support to the

". Investigation Officer Wakeel Ahmad said "investigators had found evidence of involvement of the Indian secret service in the attack". On 4 July 2021

Moeed Yusuf Moeed W. Yusuf is a Pakistani national security scholar who served as the 9th National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Previously he served in the capacity of a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on National ...

the

National Security Adviser A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

to the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...

issued a statement that "the main mastermind of this attack belongs to R&AW, lives in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and is an Indian citizen and the 'direct origin' of the money through which the attack was financed was from India". Moreover, "the cyber attacks were also carried toward the investigation equipment so that time could be gained for the network to disperse". On 27 April 2022, the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department claimed to have arrested the mastermind named as Samiul Haq, as well as the facilitator named as Uzair Akbar, of the blast from Balochistan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahore bombing, 2021 2021 in Punjab, Pakistan 2021 murders in Pakistan 2020s building bombings 2021 bombing June 2021 crimes in Asia June 2021 events in Pakistan Attacks on buildings and structures in 2021 2021 bombing Car and truck bombings in the 2020s Improvised explosive device bombings in 2021

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2021 Building bombings in Pakistan Car and truck bombings in Pakistan 2021 bombing 2021 bombing India–Pakistan relations Hafiz Muhammad Saeed