Six injured by low-intensity blasts at Internet cafes

Daily Times - LAHORE: Six people were injured in two low-intensity timed-device explosions in separate Internet cafés in the city on Saturday. 

The first blast took place at the Crown Internet Café, situated on the first floor of Crown Arcade, Garhi Shahu, in which three people were injured. The injured were identified as Hassan, a BCom student; Awais, an employee at the café; and Abdullah, a resident of Garhi Shahu. 

The explosion occurred at around 4pm and only the three injured people were present inside the café at the time. Bomb disposal squad (BDS) and Civil Defence officials claimed that it was a low-intensity timed-device blast, weighing one kilogramme, and the explosive material was placed inside a computer’s CPU. The blast completely destroyed the café. An eyewitness, Nasir Hussain, a shopkeeper at Crown Arcade, told Daily Times that he was present in his shop when he heard a massive explosion, adding that when he came out, he saw people running downstairs. He said he, along with other shopkeepers, rushed to the first floor, where the blast had taken place, adding that three people were lying injured inside the café. 

SMS: Meanwhile, rescue teams reached the spot and rushed the injured to hospital, while police cordoned off the area. The injured were rushed to Services Hospital, where the condition of one of them was stated to be critical. Prior to the blast, some reporters had also received messages informing that three blasts would take place in different areas of the city on Saturday. 

The second blast – of low-intensity – also occurred at an Internet café in Begum Kot, Shahdara, in which three people sustained minor injuries. BDS officials claimed that the nature of the blast was similar to the one at Garhi Shahu. The rescue teams reached the spot and rushed the injured to Mayo Hospital. 

The blast occurred at around 4:07pm and five people were present there at the time. The entire net café had been damaged. A large police contingent reached the spot and cordoned off the area immediately. 

CCPO: Talking to reporters, Lahore Capital City Police Officer Aslam Tareen said special teams had been set up to investigate the low-intensity attacks. He said police had been investigating different perspectives of the issue of terrorism and was collecting data about the residents of the area. He added that local terrorists could be involved in these attacks.

Meanwhile, District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta said the intensity of the blasts was low, adding that local terrorists “with a typical mindset” were involved in such terrorist activities to create “sensationalism”. staff report