Lahore court sentences 4 to death in case of blast outside JuD chief's house

LAHORE – Four men, who were involved in the Johar Town blast in June last year that claimed the lives of three people, were sentenced to death by an Anti-Terrorism Court.

Reports in local media said Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta awarded death penalties to four convicts on nine counts each under Sections 302 of PPC, Section 7-ATA, and Section 3-ESA, besides 17 years' rigorous imprisonment and fine of Rs350,000 to them under different sections.

The court also slapped five years imprisonment to a woman, Ayesha Bibi, the wife of convict Eid Gull, during the in-camera trial proceedings at high-security Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Three people were killed and scores suffered injuries in the Indian sponsored blast on June 23, 2021, that also damaged a number of houses, shops, and vehicles in the area.

The case of the terror incident was registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). Around 25-30 kgs of explosives could have been used in the blast, as it had left a three feet deep and five feet wide crater at the spot, while shrapnel flew as far as 500 meters.

An explosives-laden vehicle exploded near the house of banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), in Lahore’s Johar Town neighborhood.

National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf earlier revealed that the main mastermind behind the attack is an Indian citizen and has clear links with the Indian intelligence agency. “We have concrete evidence and intelligence, including financial and telephone records that point to direct Indian sponsorship of these terrorists”, he claimed.