Following Sunday’s deadly bombing in the city of Lahore that left at least 73 people killed and 340 others seriously wounded, Pakistani officials have carried out massive raids.
Pakistan’s counterterrorism units, intelligence agents and police have searched and interrogated over 5,000 individuals in the past 24 hours. Currently, 216 individuals have been arrested, pending further investigation. Pakistan’s police and security forces state that they have carried out over 160 raids since the attack.
Punjab’s provincial law minister, Rana Sanaullah, said that the raids would escalate, suggesting that, in the future, army and paramilitary forces would join in operations against terrorism suspects.
Sunday’s attack occurred at a children’s playground in Lahore where Christians had gathered to celebrate the Easter holiday. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Taliban affiliate, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pledged to continue pursuing militants. "I am here to renew a pledge that we are keeping count of every drop of blood of our martyrs. This account is being settled, and we will not rest until it is paid," declared the obviously emotional Prime Minister.
The Easter bombing was Pakistan’s deadliest attack since December 2014 when a group of pro-Taliban militants stormed an army-run school in the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan killing 150, almost all of them children.
