Lahore [Pakistan]: The Pakistan Army has called for improved coordination between the army and civilian law enforcement agencies to ensure suicide attacks like the one that took place on Wednesday don’t reoccur.
Chief of General Staff Lt. General Bilal Akbar called Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to discuss possibilities of greater civil-military cooperation against terrorism.
The Dawn quoted sources, as saying that various aspects of the terror incident were discussed.
The interior minister expressed his concern over the terror attack, saying the unfortunate incident took place despite having prior intelligence report in this regard.
The Punjab inspector general of police has directed a review of security measures for census teams and is considering deploying police in plain clothes at a safe distance to foil any untoward incident in future.
Four Pakistan Army soldiers and two civilians were killed in a suicide blast targeting a census team in Lahore’s Bedian Road area on Wednesday.
Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province said 18 others were wounded in the explosion.
Punjab government spokesperson Malik Ahmad Khan told Geo News that it is a suicide blast and it can be assumed that the census team and the security personnel were the target of the suicide bomber.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his condolences on the loss of lives in the blast and directed the authorities concerned to extend all requisite assistance to the provincial government. (ANI)