Blast Outside Terrorist Hafiz Saeed's House In Lahore; 2 Dead, Over A Dozen Injured

In a sudden turn of events, a massive explosion took place outside India's most wanted terrorist Hafiz Saeed's house in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday afternoon. As per the early inputs, 15 people have been injured while two lost lives in this blast.  

Hafiz Saeed (L) - Mangled remains of a vehicle (R) PIC/AFP

Lahore: A massive explosion took place outside India's most wanted terrorist Hafiz Saeed's house in Lahore, Pakistan on Wednesday afternoon. As per the early inputs, at least 15 people have been injured in this blast which has left at least 2 dead.  

As per sources, a gas pipeline exploded near Hafiz Saeed's residence in Lahore’s Johar Town area. At the time of explosion, Saeed was not present at his home.

Several visual of the blast have surfaced showing property destruction post explosion. 

While two people have lost lives, other injured persons have been shifted to a local hospital. Dawn newspaper reported Lahore Deputy Commissioner Mudassir Riaz Malik saying that 12 people, including women and children, had been injured in the blast in Johar area.

Rescue teams and investigation officials have rushed to the site. The area has been cordoned off to prevent people from gathering. 

(Security officials inspect the site of an explosion that killed at least two people and wounded another 15. PIC/AFP)

Though the nature of the blast is yet to be ascertained, police has not ruled out terrorist attack. Pakistan media on the other hand has quoted locals saying that an undentified person on motor bike repeatedly took rounds near Hafiz Saeed's residence earlier today. A woman claimed that the said person carried explosives on the bike. This has further raised suspicion. 

In Decenber 2020, the Anti-Terror Court (ATC) of Lahore had sentenced Mumbai attacks mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed to 15 and a half years in jail. The court also imposed a fine of 2 lakh Pakistani rupees. The mastermind of the Mumbai attacks of 2008, was also sentenced to 11 years in jail for involvement in two terror financing cases by the ATC in February 2020.

As many as 41 cases have been registered by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) against JuD leaders, out of which 28 have been decided while the rest are pending in the ATC courts. Five cases against Saeed have been decided so far.