Ongoing case · 2021
Ongoing case: this file carries charge-sheet facts only. Anyone charged is presumed innocent unless convicted.
The short answer
A car bomb exploded in Lahore's Johar Town neighborhood on 23 June 2021, killing three people and injuring more than 21 others, in what police believed was an attack targeting a house linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder Hafiz Saeed.
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Suggest coverage for 2021 Lahore bombingOn 23 June 2021, at approximately 11 am local time, a car bomb exploded in the Johar Town area of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The blast killed three people and injured more than 21 others. An estimated 30 kilograms of explosives were used in the device. Police stated they believed the target was a house damaged in the bombing, which was reportedly where Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and chief of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, was living at the time.
In the two days following the bombing, authorities conducted raids to locate and arrest suspects, who were subsequently charged with explosives offences. A foreign national identified as Peter Paul David was offloaded from a Karachi-bound flight and taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Investigators noted he had been frequently traveling between Karachi, Lahore, and Dubai and could not account for the purpose of these trips. The vehicle used in the bombing had changed ownership multiple times, with David identified as its last owner; he stated he had lent the car to a masked friend for a few days and had not seen the person's face.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said a "foreign hostile agency" was directly involved in the attack and had provided financial support to those responsible. Investigation Officer Wakeel Ahmad stated that investigators had found evidence implicating the Indian secret service in the attack. On 4 July 2021, Moeed Yusuf, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, said the attack's "main mastermind" belonged to India's Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), lived in India, and was an Indian citizen, and that the funding for the attack directly originated from India. Yusuf also alleged that cyber attacks had been carried out against investigation equipment to allow time for a network to disperse. India's External Affairs spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, rejected these allegations as "baseless propaganda."
On 27 April 2022, the Punjab Counter Terrorism Department stated it had arrested a man identified as Samiul Haq, described as the mastermind of the blast, along with a facilitator identified as Uzair Akbar, in Balochistan.
A car bomb exploded in Johar Town, Lahore, killing three people and injuring more than 21 others.
Moeed Yusuf, National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, alleged the attack's mastermind belonged to India's R&AW and that funding originated from India.
The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department claimed to have arrested a man identified as Samiul Haq, described as the mastermind, and a facilitator identified as Uzair Akbar, in Balochistan.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Convicted by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore on 7 March 2023, alongside Uzair Akbar and Naveed Akhtar, as the mastermind of the 23 June 2021 car bombing outside JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's Johar Town residence that killed 3 people; sentenced to death on three counts under PPC Section 302, plus life imprisonment and 10-year terms under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and Explosive Substances Act 1908 for other offences (running concurrently).[3]
Convicted by an Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore on 7 March 2023, alongside Samiul Haq and Naveed Akhtar, for the 23 June 2021 car bombing outside JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's Johar Town residence that killed 3 people; sentenced to death on three counts under PPC Section 302, plus life imprisonment and 10-year terms under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 and Explosive Substances Act 1908 for other offences (running concurrently).[3]
Charged with explosives offenses after being detained at the Lahore airport for interrogation as the last registered owner of the car used in the bombing; he denied involvement, saying he had lent the car to a masked man.[3]
From the record
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