News
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Lahore sidesteps disaster* Iqbal Town police seize 3,000 kilogrammes of explosive material from shop
* Four machine guns, four rifles, two suicide vests also confiscatedStaff Report
LAHORE: A day after the confiscation of 1,500 kilogrammes of explosives and suicide vests from Allama Iqbal Town, police in the provincial capital of Punjab on Tuesday seized 3,000 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate and potassium – which can be used for a lethal explosion – and four machine guns from a shop in the same area near Sabzi Mandi.
The 3,000 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate and potassium – packed in 200 sacks – are the largest quantity of explosive material ever to be seized in Lahore. The latest finds follow suicide attacks at Lahore’s RA Bazaar and in Model Town and several low-intensity blasts in a single night in Iqbal Town – an area that has been rocked by suicide attacks in the past.
After being tipped off, Iqbal Town police raided two shops on Tuesday, and found the 200 bags of ‘explosive material’.
SSP (Operations) Shafiq Ahmed said the material found could have been used for a “major terrorist attack”.
Unassembled parts of three submachine guns and one light machine gun were also found from the shop in Iqbal Town’s Mehran Block. The AFP news agency quoted SSP (Investigations) Zulfiqar Hameed as saying, “Police... [also seized] two suicide vests [and] four rifles.”
The owner of the shop, Javed Sheikh, has also been arrested and an investigation is underway. Hamed told AFP that nine other suspects had also been arrested.
Bomb disposal squad officials said the ammonium nitrate – normally used as a fertilizer for crops – had been packed in Pak-Arab Fertilizer sacks. The SSP (operations) said a combination of the two chemicals seized on Tuesday could be lethal and destroy everything in a radius of 500 metres.
A shopkeeper on the street from where the explosives were seized said he had never seen any movement at the shop. “I never even saw anybody opening the shop.”
Meanwhile, SSP Hameed told Daily Times that it was yet to be determined if a combination of fertilizers had been used in the suicide attacks at RA Bazaar and in Model Town. The confiscation of around 4,500 kilogrammes of explosives has panicked the citizens of Lahore, especially Iqbal Town residents, who fear “a major attack is looming”. They say while the police raids have been impressive, the latest finds have highlighted security lapses in the city and the threat of terrorism looming over the provincial capital.
Meanwhile, some believe that the latest finds are a “show of strength” by terrorists, “who cannot be foolish enough to store such large quantities in the same place”. If the terrorists wanted the hidden material to be found, citizens are asking for the motive behind such a plan. Whatever the case, they say the public and “even police are mentally disturbed”.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk