An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday sentenced four suspects to death on nine counts each in Lahore’s Johar Town blast case.
ATC Judge Arshad Hussain Bhutta announced the verdict, which was reserved earlier on the completion of arguments by the parties. The four accused – Peter Paul, Eid Gul Khan, Zia Ullah and Sajjad – were awarded death sentence while the fifth accused, Ayesha Gul, was awarded a five-year jail term and fine. In June 2021, a powerful bomb blast in Lahore’s Johar Town had killed three people and left 24 others injured. Six-year-old Abdul Haq, his father Abdul Malik, and a passer-by died in the explosion.
The blast left a four-foot-deep and eight-foot-wide crater on the road and damaged several houses and shops nearby. On July 4, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said that India was behind the bomb blast. While addressing the presser, Moeed Yusuf had said the Lahore blast was sponsored by India and the person who managed the entire act was linked to RAW. “The mastermind of the Johar Town blast belongs to RAW,” the NSA had said, adding that India is involved in terrorist activities against the country.
