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Add Lahore killing

Following a condolence meeting, Leader of the Opposition, Mian Nawaz Sharif described the killing as the climax of brutal politics which, as he put it, had been initiated by the ruling PPP in the days of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

In order to build a democratic and civilised Pakistan, people at large would have to come out to bring about an immediate and decisive change, he said. This was all the more necessary because the government was out to create a Karachi-like situation in Lahore, he claimed.

In an interview with this correspondent, however, Deputy Commissioner Kamran Lashari put the blame on "the handful of miscreants, who had set a police kiosk on fire". A policeman on routine patrol arrested a man wearing burnt clothes and with some explosive device in his hand, following which shots were fired from a van, apparently to get him released, the Deputy Commissioner said. It was at this stage, he said, that a bank guard and a policeman posted with him also opened fire. As a result, the man must have been killed in the exchange.

The district administration has confirmed the arrest of seven people, including five women.

PRESS NOTE

The District Magistrate Lahore, has issued the following Press note:

"On Thursday at about 12 noon suddenly a group of people came on the Mall Road. This instantly set the traffic police kiosk on fire. One of the miscreants i.e. Zubair Hanif, carrying a home made explosive device, ran towards the Diyal Singh Mansion, where he was apprehended by a police-constable on patrol duty. The miscreant Zubair Hanif was taken by the constable towards the nearby UBL Branch to seek help from the police-guard on duty. The companions of the miscreant chased the constable to get their accomplice released. They resorted to indiscriminate firing with small arms which smashed the window panes of the bank and the Shezan restaurant as well as some vehicles. It also resulted in the fire arm injuries to the manager of the bank and a waiter of the restaurant.

The two police guards on duty and the bank-guard fired in self-defence which resulted in the dispersal of the miscreants. During the cross-fire, one of the miscreants was injured who was carried away by his companions to the Services Hospital where he succumbed to the injuries. Cases have been registered under the relevant section of the law".