Sunni Terrorist Fragments of Unstable Pakistan - 10 Oct 2014

partha · Post by **partha** » 03 Nov 2014 00:19

Anujan wrote:There is a mini curfew because Shahbaz Sharif had an agreement with Taliban to not attack Pakjab. He even publicly appealed for this

http://www.dawn.com/news/857697/cm-shah ... are-punjab

That agreement seems to have broken down.

Yeah, terror returns to Pakjab!

Mahendra · Post by **Mahendra** » 03 Nov 2014 00:20

Bhailog, what is the latest score? Did Jundullah score century on debut?

rsingh · Post by **rsingh** » 03 Nov 2014 00:26

Very confuzing sicuashun onlee. Every phata abdul want to take responsibility

-Hanifullah says meine bum dhamak kiya
-Jandullah says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-Jamat ul Ahrar says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-Police says gas cylnder ne dhamaka kiya
-Lundullah says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-Bundullah says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-bbc says militant ne bum dhamaka kiya
-Radio Bakistan says namalum afrat ne dhamaka kiya
-Indian watching the ceremoney says there was a pungent smell of pindi chana gas form Bakistani side,right before the explosion

very konfusing onlee.........abe koi tou bata de ye kisne kiya.

My theory is that actually this bomb was meant for India side. Abdul was to run with Bakistani flag toward gate and detonate the bomb but some how he could not do it and was going back to try his luck next time and then some accident happened.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 03 Nov 2014 00:27

The lunch, so to speak, yes the free lunch, meant for taliban, jundullah, abd other green bunnies has been eaten by IS, boko haram, ebola, and syroia related returnees.

If they want to be taken seriously, they need to get in the game and outdo IS. Capture forts, equipment, people (read wimmens), and hold it. They are not capable of it, everyone knows it. Flashes in the pan aside, all shades of super green are irrelevant.

They will fall off the funding poriorities, do a desperate thing or two every now and then and then fade away to minor irritant status. Thgeir best efforts are not close to IS ablutions before breakfast.

Ghani and his US backers realise this too. Thus a shift back to Afpak bonhomie. Interesting times for the mullahs.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 03 Nov 2014 01:24

GAURAV C SAWANT ‏@gauravcsawant 34m34 minutes ago New Delhi, Delhi

irony died in the same blast. TTP talks about plight of muslims in J&K & Gujarat after killing 54 & injuring 200 muslims in Wagah @sa_laks

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 03 Nov 2014 02:19

They are claiming lone soosai attacker, but I still find it hard to believe. 55 people dead 120 injured. Roofs of shops blown off and vehicles charred.

Apparently there are 4 ranger checkposts one has to cross before getting to the point where the blast happened. Maybe the Muj wanted to get into India and had a premature dhamakulation? Or maybe the bum was in one of the trucks waiting to cross? Anyway.

Next 2 days are Ashura in Pakistan. Traditional Shia hunting season begins.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 03 Nov 2014 02:28

Anujan wrote:They are claiming lone soosai attacker, but I still find it hard to believe. 55 people dead 120 injured. Roofs of shops blown off and vehicles charred.

Apparently there are 4 ranger checkposts one has to cross before getting to the point where the blast happened. Maybe the Muj wanted to get into India and had a premature dhamakulation? Or maybe the bum was in one of the trucks waiting to cross? Anyway.

Next 2 days are Ashura in Pakistan. Traditional Shia hunting season begins.

Most probably this was the case. ISI were trying to smuggle explosives through Wagah Checkpoint, and it exploded suddenly. Everything else including claims of owning up to the blast coming from various parties, is only meant as a way to conceal the truth.

Now is the time to qustion whether a bomb-maker who gets blown by his own bombs, is also a victim.

Prem Kumar · Post by **Prem Kumar** » 03 Nov 2014 03:23

Day of Achievements for Pakistan: Misbah scores fastest 100. TTP scores fastest 50

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 03 Nov 2014 04:11

partha wrote:
Anujan wrote:There is a mini curfew because Shahbaz Sharif had an agreement with Taliban to not attack Pakjab. He even publicly appealed for this
That agreement seems to have broken down.
Yeah, terror returns to Pakjab!

Wrong, Jihad comes to Pakjab. Many apstate and hypocrites living there.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Nov 2014 04:14

^^^Summer vacation over. Some put their popcorn away prematurely, assuming TTP had indeed split up into, umm..., mutually incompatible factions.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 03 Nov 2014 04:19

rsingh wrote:Very confuzing sicuashun onlee. Every phata abdul want to take responsibility

-Hanifullah says meine bum dhamak kiya
-Jandullah says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-Jamat ul Ahrar says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-Police says gas cylnder ne dhamaka kiya
-Lundullah says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-Bundullah says meine bum dhamaka kiya
-bbc says militant ne bum dhamaka kiya
-Radio Bakistan says namalum afrat ne dhamaka kiya
-Indian watching the ceremoney says there was a pungent smell of pindi chana gas form Bakistani side,right before the explosion

very konfusing onlee.........abe koi tou bata de ye kisne kiya.

My theory is that actually this bomb was meant for India side. Abdul was to run with Bakistani flag toward gate and detonate the bomb but some how he could not do it and was going back to try his luck next time and then some accident happened.

We'll have to do
"Aada Paada, Kaun Paada.
Mamaji ka Ghoda Paada
Dhaain Dhaain Dhoos
Adli Padli Phusss"
In the end who ever the fingers points to, is the one who did the pindi chana gas release.

In this case, it is surely Sarkari talibs or JUD itself or some freelancers at the behest of the ISI.
Warning to India, that bum bilaast is coming to your doorstep.
They currently don't have the gaa*d mein dum to do a bomb blast INSIDE india, so testing the waters, by blasting one at the border.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 03 Nov 2014 04:24

If the Al Bakistan police give the blast site super duper water hose treatment, we'll know this was the work at the behest of the ISI, targeted at India's doorstep

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Nov 2014 05:06

Supratik wrote:Curious. Jundullah operates in Iranian Sistan/Balochistan. It is a Baloch insurgent group. Are the fractured Baloch groups coming together under "friendly advice".

Mahendra wrote:Did Jundullah score century on debut?

I think the confusion comes from mis-spelling. There are two tanzeems with close sounding names, Jandullah and Jundullah.

Jandullah (Army of Allah) is headquartered in Karachi and was created by Khalid Sheikh Muhammad (KSM) in c. 2004. In 2004, Jandullah operatives attempted to assassinate the commander of the Karachi-based V Corps, Lieutenant-General Ahsan Saleem Hayat. Jandullah also executed a suicide bombing near the U.S. consulate in Karachi in March 2006 on the eve of President George Bush's visit. After the Emir of Jandullah, Ata-ur-Rahman (Alias Umer alias Ibrahim alias Zubair was arrested for the attempt of Lt. Gen. Ahsan Saleem Hayat and sentenced to death for attempting to kill Musharraf as well, Jandullah is currently being run by Al Qaeda commander Hamza Jofy alias Haji Mumtaz, an Arab militant, who is operating it from Miran Shah. Jandullah is also a member of Brigade 313 founded by the now dead SSG Commando Ilyas Kashmiri. Members of this coalition are part of ISIS as well.

It is Jundullah that operates in the Sistan-Baluchistan area.

I won't be surprised if Jandullah's claims are true.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 03 Nov 2014 05:20

50 plus dead is an unusually large number for soosai. Must have been a very crowded place. Note that every human in the path of the blast protects humans beyond him. So a circle of 50 people around the soosai would, at a guesstimate, weigh 50 x 50 kg = 2500 kg at least. Clearly the bomb was powerful enough to move a weight larger than 2500 kg (100 injured/buildings damaged etc) Could it have been a car bomb/motorcycle bomb?

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 03 Nov 2014 05:21

Ajit Doval, this section should be listened to for about 10-12 minutes.
http://youtu.be/DuSNC7qZwi0?t=42m30s
His take on how the British perceived various Muslim strategic threats, and their strategic response is very interesting.
The British had the first jihadis fight against Ranjit Singh and get routed. The British answered the highly nationalist Deoband madrassa with Sir Sayyid Ahmed and the Aligarh Muslim University. (He says it is the product of the Aligarh Muslim University that created Pakistan.) He says strengthen nationalist political Islam that is under siege from the Wahhabs and such. "We have to counter the political Islam of the jihadis with the political Islam of the nationalists".

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Nov 2014 05:22

SS, Thanks for the clarification. Now it makes sense.
Jandallah is a sarkari jihadi outfit.

So what gives?

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 03 Nov 2014 05:49

^^shiv, this was at the Wagah checkpost, and these are people who came to see the ridiculous flag lowering and gate closing ceremony there, so it is not surprising that it was crowded.

partha · Post by **partha** » 03 Nov 2014 05:55

Does anyone know the exact location of the blast? Was it right next to the border gate? Because that's where the crowd will be.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 03 Nov 2014 05:56

A_Gupta wrote:Ajit Doval, this section should be listened to for about 10-12 minutes.
http://youtu.be/DuSNC7qZwi0?t=42m30s
His take on how the British perceived various Muslim strategic threats, and their strategic response is very interesting.
The British had the first jihadis fight against Ranjit Singh and get routed. The British answered the highly nationalist Deoband madrassa with Sir Sayyid Ahmed and the Aligarh Muslim University. (He says it is the product of the Aligarh Muslim University that created Pakistan.) He says strengthen nationalist political Islam that is under siege from the Wahhabs and such. "We have to counter the political Islam of the jihadis with the political Islam of the nationalists".

Brilliant. Thank you once again for taking the trouble to listen and post a very relevant part.
Doval is
1. A very clear thinker
2. A well informed historian
3. A good speaker

partha · Post by **partha** » 03 Nov 2014 05:59

Pak military is projecting this blast as a failure of Pakjab govt (for promoting sectarianism) and Pakjab police.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 03 Nov 2014 05:59

partha wrote:Does anyone know the exact location of the blast? Was it right next to the border gate? Because that's where the crowd will be.

As per videos (I have not seen the real thing) there is a no man's land between the two countries and the crowd is somewhat removed from the actual border gate. The impression I got from some reports is that this happened at the entrance to the viewing area on the Paki side which is probably further removed from the border gate itself

partha · Post by **partha** » 03 Nov 2014 06:02

shiv wrote:
A_Gupta wrote:Ajit Doval, this section should be listened to for about 10-12 minutes.
http://youtu.be/DuSNC7qZwi0?t=42m30s
Brilliant. Thank you once again for taking the trouble to listen and post a very relevant part.
Doval is
1. A very clear thinker
2. A well informed historian
3. A good speaker

+1. It is also encouraging to see such talks in aam aadmi universities. I hope this becomes a trend.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Nov 2014 06:11

ramana wrote:Jandallah is a sarkari jihadi outfit.

So what gives?

ramana, it is the same theme since c. 2002. Musharraf invoked the concept of Hudabayah in his Urdu speech after agreeing to help the US. A large section of the sarkari jihadists were unwilling to accept such nuances or unwilling to wait forever for the tides to stop in the seas. They began attacking the state. It continues.

In my post earlier, I felt that Zerb-e-Azb was a coercive step to 'harvest bad souls (bad Taliban)' and make them 'good Taliban'. There are also reports of SSP/LeJ cadres moving to LeT/JeM (a sort of unheard of reverse migration). The SSP/LeJ/HuJI et al form the backbone of the Punjabi Taliban. The TTP is apparently split, with one group showing more interest in ISIS. Some members of the umbrella tanzeem, Brigade 313, had fought along with the IS in the Levant. The PA, IMHO, is trying to gather as much manpower from this split to be on its side rather than joining the IS. The 'bad Taliban' are trying to preserve their strength. The IS could be bad news for the PA. Jandullah is after all a KSM organization and KSM had a 'worldwide view' of jihad, just not limited to India or Afghanistan. Uzbeks, Chechens and Arabs are part of Jandullah. So, its sympathies with the IS are natural.

If Jandullah's claim is true, it is a revenge for the North Waziristan operation and to stem the split and the flow of cadres. In jihadist discourse, the centre of gravity easily shifts towards the more violent ones. So, they have a need to constantly up the ante and be increasingly more violent and brutal. This is another demonstration.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 03 Nov 2014 07:35

SSridhar wrote: If Jandullah's claim is true, it is a revenge for the North Waziristan operation and to stem the split and the flow of cadres. In jihadist discourse, the centre of gravity easily shifts towards the more violent ones. So, they have a need to constantly up the ante and be increasingly more violent and brutal. This is another demonstration.

It is also a demonstration of what India learned albeit with much pain

Fighting terrorism is about being opposed to all forms or terror from all agencies, a robust internal intelligence apparatus that is not fighting different wars against different entities, an internal security apparatus that is not tied down by divided loyalties and multiple aims.

To me, it is also an indication that the Pakistan army is overstretched and cannot contribute to internal security as it should. They selectively protect some people and some areas that are dear to them The rest of shitland is left to its own devices.

These are all indicators of state failure. Nothing fast or catastrophic, but a slow degeneration as the most powerful forces lose ground and start protecting smaller and smaller areas.

I think the Pakistan army will decide whether Pakistan survives or not. I think that continuous opposition to India will bring Pakistan down. But internal forces in the army cannot allow detente with India - so the polity and army are torn and they are tearing each other apart. Of course I am quite happy to watch, given that we can't do much more than that.

member_27991 · Post by **member_27991** » 03 Nov 2014 08:00

Some people in TSP are reportedly happy that their friends and relatives got a chance to be part of the martyrdom suicide blast. Some of them were also reported saying that they were a little disappointed that they couldn't be a part of the celebration. Abdul Naqvi, one of the two young gay partners from Lahore said that he got an indication from above (or below wherever) after his morning Namaaz that today was his chosen day and seconded a dream he had the previous night while sleeping with Saleem and his sister (not salim's). He however went to a goat festival instead there by totally missing the god sent opportunity. He fights to live another day.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 03 Nov 2014 08:16

^^er this is benis stuff

partha · Post by **partha** » 03 Nov 2014 08:19

Going forward RAPEs will have to fly to Delhi and then drive to Wagah border to participate in WKK ceremonies because of security concerns.

gandharva · Post by **gandharva** » 03 Nov 2014 08:21

CRamS · Post by **CRamS** » 03 Nov 2014 08:40

rshindeJi, funny alright, but in poor taste. I like the tweet, succinct sarcasm on TSP and its 3.5 propaganda that TSP is a victim of terror just like India.

Sridhar K · Post by **Sridhar K** » 03 Nov 2014 08:53

Have been to the Attari border in July this year to watch the BSF show. The no man's land is hardly 25-50 feet max. The crowds gather on both sides of the no man's land and there is a viewing gallery where 100s assemble to watch the retreat. The trucks don't cross the gates on which the retreat happens. On the Indian side of NH that runs east-west, all vehicles coming to view the border are stopped almost a km away. There is a huge ground where vehicles are parked. People have to walk towards the border gates for close to a km. After the show is done, huge crowd of people walk back towards the parking area. The area is littered with shops selling ice creams, tea- coffee, snacks etc. While there are quite a few checkposts in the walking area, people are frisked before being sent inside.

Trucks going to/from Pak are routed through a huge joint border check post almost a km before the gate, which forks off soutwest from the main east-west NH. The above is the set up on the Indian side.

Guess the set up may be similar on the baki side as well, We could see bakis walking back westwards after the show. So in that area between the viewing gallery and the parking lot, a blast could cause more than normal casualties and the road side shops could have taken a hit. Trucks go through a different route. We could see the go through a parallel narrow road into a similar check post on the other side.

abhijitm · Post by **abhijitm** » 03 Nov 2014 09:01

It looks to me an insider's job. Someone who knows modus operandi of this place. It is possible that the explosives were already smuggled inside the secured perimeter. The volunteer came in, picked up the bag and bang.

They never disclose type of explosive used in the blast.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 03 Nov 2014 09:06

He said that people have to cross walkthrough gates at two checkpoints before reaching the parade ground. The bomber detonated the explosives strapped to his body when people were exiting the second checkpoint, nearly 500 metres from the parade ground, he added.

Maj Gen Khan said the bomber struck near where tea and food stalls and canteens are located. Moreover, a National Logistic Cells (NLC) {Paki army run. Famous for heroin smuggling form Afghanistan. Are they the ones doing truck traffic across the border? If so, it is a cause of concern} yard is also sited nearby where hundreds of labourers work. And they come to these stalls for lunch and dinner.

IGP Punjab Mustaq Sukhera said that the bomber’s vest was rigged with 12-15 kilos of explosives. Ball bearings and nails were also packed in the device with the intent to inflict maximum casualties, he added. IGP Sukhera said that the arms and legs of the bomber have been found and subsequently sent to a forensic lab for a DNA test.

According to sources, the police suspected that the suicide vest could have been transported to the area in a truck bound for the NLC yard. The bomber might have reached the area unsuspected, collected the vest and struck, sources said. However, the police said they are also investigating other possible angles.

15 Kilos is the size of atleast a big schoolbag. How is a backpaki roaming around with a schoolbag around him?

Satellite view

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Nov 2014 09:15

Pak army is being shown up for the wusses they are. Soon they will be disbanded and the jihadis take overr.

Not enough having jihad-e-fistula as a motto when they face real jihadis who are more dominant.

abhijitm · Post by **abhijitm** » 03 Nov 2014 09:15

OMG, Anujan I just repeated what above post is saying!!

the police suspected that the suicide vest could have been transported to the area in a truck bound for the NLC yard. The bomber might have reached the area unsuspected, collected the vest and struck, sources said. However, the police said they are also investigating other possible angles.

I said

It looks to me an insider's job. Someone who knows modus operandi of this place. It is possible that the explosives were already smuggled inside the secured perimeter. The volunteer came in, picked up the bag and bang.

Mihaylo · Post by **Mihaylo** » 03 Nov 2014 09:53

A_Gupta wrote:Ajit Doval, this section should be listened to for about 10-12 minutes.
http://youtu.be/DuSNC7qZwi0?t=42m30s
His take on how the British perceived various Muslim strategic threats, and their strategic response is very interesting.
The British had the first jihadis fight against Ranjit Singh and get routed. The British answered the highly nationalist Deoband madrassa with Sir Sayyid Ahmed and the Aligarh Muslim University. (He says it is the product of the Aligarh Muslim University that created Pakistan.) He says strengthen nationalist political Islam that is under siege from the Wahhabs and such. "We have to counter the political Islam of the jihadis with the political Islam of the nationalists".

He mentions the concept of 'Defensive Offence' wrt to Pukistan. That is what we saw as a response to the border firing from Pukistan. Wisdom, clarity of thought, courage and determination...May we have more like him.

-M

partha · Post by **partha** » 03 Nov 2014 09:54

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... gah-intel/

From their observation posts, Border Security Force personnel said they saw a massive cloud of smoke rise after the explosion. “There were people lying everywhere,” a BSF officer told The Indian Express. “Our troops counted more than a hundred. We tried contacting the Rangers to find out what had happened, but got no response.” - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/ ... gugQv.dpuf

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 03 Nov 2014 10:34

^^^

Indian visitors to the evening flag-lowering ceremony, which draws thousands to stadia-like venues on both sides of the border each Sunday, had already vacated the area, a BSF official said. “It was just luck that the bombing didn’t take place a few minutes earlier or we could have had a stampede.”

Sridhar K · Post by **Sridhar K** » 03 Nov 2014 10:53

^^ Agree to that. Though OT, The whole parade viewership on the Indian side is badly managed. Too much crowd, very little control mechanism, huge potential for stampede. They need to bring in a system like Tirumala or never allow people.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 03 Nov 2014 12:21

TTP splinter groups claim Wagah attack; 60 dead - DAWN

At least 60 people were killed on Sunday in a blast near the Wagah border, the responsibility of which was claimed separately by the outlawed Jundullah and TTP-affiliated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar outfits.

Victims include 10 women and seven children, while more than 110 people have been injured.

Punjab police chief Inspector General Mushtaq Sukhera told AP that the bomb exploded outside a restaurant near a paramilitary soldiers' checkpoint at Wagah border on the outskirts of Lahore city. He also added that the explosion could have been the result of a suicide blast.

Lahore police chief Amin Wains confirmed it was a suicide attack. “People were returning after watching the parade at Wagah border when the blast took place. Ball bearings were found at the scene,” he said.

Emergency has been declared at all hospitals in Lahore. Prime Nawaz Sharif has taken notice of the explosion and called for a report on the incident.

Wagah is the only road border crossing between the Indian city of Amritsar and the Pakistani city of Lahore.

An Indian security official told Reuters that the Indian side of Wagah border is “safe” after blast on Pakistani side.

The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar splinter group of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the Wagah border attack as its spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, speaking to Dawn on telephone from Afghanistan, said it was carried out by one of their men.

When asked if it was more than one suicide bomber, he said one man carried out the attack.

"We will continue such attacks in the future," Ehsan said.

"Some other groups have claimed responsibility of this attack, but these claims are baseless. We will soon release the video of this attack," he said.

"This attack is revenge for the killing of innocent people in North Waziristan," the banned militant group's spokesman said.

Earlier Jundullah, another outlawed group which was behind a suicide bombing that killed at least 78 Christians at a church in Peshawar last September, had also claimed responsibility for the Wagah border attack.

The spokesman of the splinter group of the TTP Ahmed Marwat via telephone said that the attack is a reaction to military operation Zarb-i-Azb and Waziristan operation.

Jundullah and the much larger Pakistani Taliban are among loosely aligned militant groups that frequently share personnel, tactics and agendas. Claims for specific incidents are often hard to verify.

The group has claimed various attacks including the October 23 attack on Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Quetta .

On September 22, 2013, a twin suicide bomb attack had killed 127 people at a Peshawar church. This was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan. Jundallah had wasted no time in accepting responsibility of this attack too.

18 Shia Muslims traveling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit-Baltistan on a bus in February 2012 were stopped in Kohistan and massacred based on their religious affiliation by individuals dressed in Military uniforms. Jundallah had also claimed responsibility for the act by contacting the media.

In June 2013, Jundallah had claimed responsibility for the killing of tourists and their Pakistani guide in Gilgit–Baltistan. The tourists were mountain-climbers who had hoped to climb Nanga Parbat. The dead included five Ukrainians, three Chinese, and their guide.

Scenes at the hospital

As most of the dead and injured were shifted to the nearby Ghurki Hospital, reporters said the premises was swarming with police, security agencies and the families of victims.

Hospital administration confirmed that at least 40 dead and over 50 injured have been received by hospital authorities.

“We received 35 bodies including those of women and children and 60 to 70 were wounded,” Deputy Medical Superintendent of Ghurki Hospital near the Wagah border crossing, identified only as Dr Khurram, told domestic television channels earlier.

Later, medical superintendent Dr Iftikhar confirmed that over 100 people have been brought to Ghurki Hospital. More injured have been shifted to Lahore hospitals as GH does not have the capacity to treat further patients.

Timing of explosion

The explosion reportedly took place as the Rangers concluded the ceremony at Wagah, and the flags were being lowered.

For years, a military flag-lowering ceremony that takes place every evening at the Wagah border post, which draws crowds of partisan tourists who cheer every hostile strut and stare traded by the border guards on both sides.

DG Rangers confirms suicide blast

Director General Rangers Punjab Khan Tahir Khan confirmed that the explosion is a suicide blast.

"The parade venue is about 600 metres ahead of the blast site. Because of the strict checking the suicide bomber detonated the bomb away from the parade venue."

Blast site

Footage shows shops and nearby buildings destroyed at the site of the blast. Security and rescue personnel rushed to the site of the blast.

Journalists have been instructed to clear the area, which the Rangers have cordoned off for security reasons. Forensic teams are currently present at the site and are collecting evidence as part of the investigation.

An eyewitness speaking to DawnNews said people were coming out of the shops when the bomb explosion took place."There were several bodies at the scene of the blast. It was a very powerful blast.”

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 03 Nov 2014 12:30

When did terror ever leave Pak? The country is so saturated in blood of all sections of society,that an ISIS style bloodbath is on the cards.The Paki army will crumble like that of the Iraqis one day,as the greater the number of beardies within the armed forces increases in number as it is,the greater barbaric Islamist fundamentalism that is thriving in Pak, the pillars of the state that supporrts its stability are being weakened by the day thanks to their support for terror factions.Pak is part of the ISIS crisis that has gripped the MEast.It trained jihadis in the tens of thousands s,sent them all over the world to do their diabolic acts of terror and happliy thought that it would remain immune from the Terror-bola disease that has no cure.Sadly for it,the disease which was long in the air in Pak has now become unstoppable. India has to "quarantine" Pak by snapping all friendly ties with it except for diplomatic,batten the hatches and watch the explosions preferably happen on the Paki side of the border.The concern about the safety of Pak's nukes is increasing in magnitude by the day.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/n ... g-lowering
Dozens killed in suicide attack at Pakistan-India border post
Bomb blast occurs at at Wagah border post during daily flag-lowering ceremony
Jon Boone in Islamabad
The Guardian, Sunday 2 November 2014

A suicide bomber targeted crowds attending a military parade on the Pakistan-India border on Sunday, killing at least 45 people and injuring more than 70.

The attack occurred as spectators were streaming away from a flag-lowering ceremony that takes places at dusk each day at the Wagah border post, an immensely symbolic and sensitive area 15 miles from Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Among the dead were three members of the Rangers, a paramilitary force with responsibility for securing the area.

Punjab Rangers chief Tahir Javed Khan confirmed the attack was the work of a suicide bomber who detonated his device after apparently realising he would be unable to get through a security cordon without being frisked. “The suicide bomber failed to cross the security barrier and blew himself up outside when people were coming out,” he said.

Had he succeeded in reaching the parade ground itself, where tiered seating accommodates hundreds of spectators, the death toll from a bomb thought to have been laced with ball bearings could have been higher.

The daily spectacle sees soldiers on both sides stamping around in an elaborate display that culminates with the slamming shut of the double gates of the only land-crossing between India and Pakistan.

The flamboyant display of nationalism attracts large crowds of onlookers on both sides of the border, including many families with young children.

Spokesmen from two nominally separate militant groups contacted news outlets to claim responsibility for the attack.

First, Jundullah, which has been linked to savage attacks in the past, said it had carried out the attack. Last year they claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a church in the north-western city of Peshawar.

Later a spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said the bombing was just “the start of attacks” by the relatively new group, which “will continue such attacks in the future”. He said in a statement: “This attack is the revenge of the killing of those innocent people who have been killed by Pakistan army particularly of those who have been killed in North Waziristan,” he said in a statement.

In recent months the country has enjoyed a lull in terrorist violence, with far fewer mass-casualty attacks on soft civilian targets than in the previous year.

Analysts attributed the downturn in violence to the military operation launched in June against the militant safe haven in the north-west tribal agency of North Waziristan, and disagreements within the Pakistani Taliban that resulted in the once formidable militant alliance splitting into multiple groups.

Security forces are nonetheless on high alert as the country’s Shia minority prepare to gather in large numbers to mark the festival of Ashura, which has been attacked by sectarian terrorists in the past.

Wagah is a particularly sensitive area for a country that has fought four wars since independence in 1947 with its larger neighbour.

With travel and trade between the two countries heavily restricted, the daily flag ceremony is the only opportunity most Pakistanis and Indians have to see each other in the flesh.

Some pro-peace activists in Pakistan have criticised the noisy show of daily patriotism and have called for it to be scrapped.

Despite the hopes of prime minister Nawaz Sharif for an improvement in trade and diplomatic ties between the two countries, relations are at a low ebb after Delhi reprimanded Pakistani diplomats for meeting Kashmiri separatist leaders in August.

There has also been a dramatic escalation in cross-border firing between Indian and Pakistani troops on either side of the border in recent months.