Taliban bombers sneaked in by local bus

The two Taliban suicide bombers who targeted army vehicles within the cantonment here on Friday had apparently sneaked into the heavily guarded area by using a bus, police sources said.

“Since all seven points leading into the cantonment are heavily guarded by the army and police personnel, hardly any private vehicle is allowed to enter the area without being thoroughly checked,” a source in the Crime Investigation Department told PTI.

“Security officials usually do not inspect buses plying on routes in this area. There is a great possibility that the two terrorists reached R A Bazar within the cantonment by riding a local bus,” he said.

“Specific directions have been issued to officials guarding entry points to the cantonment to check teenagers with a pathan look,” said the source.

The source further said both bombers were on foot and it would not have been possible for them to enter the area by evading security personnel.

Local buses were the only “safe” mode of transport they could have used to reach the destination, he said.

The suicide bombers blew themselves up after throwing grenades at vehicles of the Garrison Security Force killing 45 people, including 10 soldiers, and injuring over 100.

The bombers were aged between 17 and 20 years. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the bombers' features indicated that they hailed from the tribal areas in northwest Pakistan. Meanwhile, police sources said three suspects had been arrested in the cantonment.

Unrest

Pakistan has “solid evidence” of India's alleged involvement in fomenting unrest in Balochistan province and the government is taking up this matter diplomatically with its Indian counterpart, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed on Friday.

Mr. Malik made the remarks while talking to the media at Parliament.

“We are not levelling mere allegations against India but we have solid evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan.

The weapons recovered from various areas were Indian-made,” he alleged.

Afghanistan's soil is being used to destabilise Balochistan and President Hamid Karzai, who visited Pakistan this week, has given a commitment that Afghan soil will not be used against Pakistan, he said.

The Indian government has denied allegations by Pakistani leaders that it is behind the unrest in Pakistan.

To a question, Mr. Malik said no targeted killings were being carried out in Karachi but there was a “conspiracy to pitch religious groups against each other”.

Lauding efforts by clerics of different schools of thought to foil the “conspiracy” hatched by anti-state elements, he said,

“We have intelligence information that money has been disbursed to pitch religious groups against one other.”