Victims of the blast flood local hospitals (NDTV and Agence France- Presse)
In a chilling message to journalists, Ehsanullah Ehsan spokesperson for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (TTP JA) claimed responsibility for an attack on the border post of Wagah in east Pakistan on Sunday. Over 60 people were killed with an estimated 110 injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives following a flag lowering ceremony on the outskirts of Lahore. Officials claimed 3 members of the border force were killed in the blast which occurred not far from the parade ground at a security checkpoint, women and children are among the dead. Kamal Hyder, a journalist for Al Jazeera in Islamabad, reported that eight members of the same family had been killed in the explosion.
Popular ceremony at Wagah border crossing between Pakistan and India (Dawn)
A statement from Ehsanullah read,
“TTP JA claim the responsibility of Wagah border attack. Our friend Hanifullah operated this attack. This is the start of attacks of TTP JA and InshaAllah we will continue such attacks in the future. Some other groups claim the responsibility of this attack but these claims are baseless. We will soon release the video of this attack. INSHALLAH. This attack is the revenge of the killing of those innocent people who have been killed by Pakistan Army particularly of those who have been killed in North Waziristan”
The Pakistan military who have been battling the Taliban for years, launched operation Zarb -e Asb back in June in North Waziristan in an attempt to wipe out insurgents groups. There are conflicting reports on how successful this has been so far with Taliban saying military have failed to curb their operational ability.
Anger is growing among thousands of civilians that have no choice but to leave the affected area and join the ever growing numbers of Internally Displaced persons (IDPs). In recent days operations Khyber 1 and Khyber 2 have also begun with civilian casualties reported from journalists close to the action but afraid to report openly for fear of reprisals, see,
“Khyber agency: A note from the border during Pakistan military operations”
There was initial confusion as to who was responsible for the Wagah attack as media reported alleged claims from 4 different groups at one point. However Ehsanullah informed me via Twitter that, “they don’t have any proof, soon we will issue his (the bomber’s) photo and video….other groups don’t have the ability to do such attacks.” The perpertrator was referred to as Hafiz Hanifullah and another member of the Taliban called the bombing “a gift to Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif”.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, warning TTP JA can attack on both sides of the border
Ehsanullah went on to say “this is message for the governments of both sides of the border, if we can attack on one side, we can also attack on other side (India). Referring to earlier claim of responsibility allegedly from Jundullah, he added, “it is requested to media that they should not give such a coverage to a fictitious group Jundullah, who only exist in thoughts.” Another key member of TTP JA claimed, “Jundullah is an imaginary group created by government to divide Mujahideen.There is only one man in this group who is the chief and is spokesman and worker.”
Imran Khan, Chairman of political group Pakistan Tehreek -e-Insaf (PTI) strongly condemned “this act of terror” while spokesperson Shireen Mazari, tweeted that it was “strange why government didn’t act despite having intelligence report about a possible attack at Wagah during the parade ceremony 2 days ago.”
Pakistani journalist Hasan Abdullah who regularly reports on insurgency in the region had this to say,
“religious fanaticism, sectarianism, economic woes, political turmoil and much more. Most of us in Pakistan are still living in a state of denial. Our thoughtless patriotism, misplaced superiority complex and the inability to introspect will prove costly”
He likened the situation to the Titanic with each compartment failing one by one and time about to run out.
Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.
Carol Anne Grayson (Radical Sister) blog 
wagha an unknown vilage before partition acquired prominance later through which the citizens of the newly carved countries passed to meet their left over relations, mostly muslims now muhajirs in pakistan.———-india and pakistan negotiate to rehabilitate the uprooted in their ancestral homes both sides of the border.—india and pakistan would never reconcile.–the added curse is the TTP.
Thanks for your comment. Yes, Wagah is a very symbolic place. TTP state,”this is just the start” I believe we could see attacks on both sides of the border Pakistan and India in coming days!