Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said Pakistan Army will support hosting of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in the Punjab capital.
Soon after the attack, social media users were quick to suggest that the blast was meant to derail plans to hold the highly-anticipated final.
The second edition of the annual T20 tournament – like the first – is ongoing in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns, but after the recent military crackdown on extremism, officials were confident enough to pick Gaddafi Stadium to host the final.
However, General Bajwa, on a visit to Corps Headquarters in Lahore on Tuesday, said such incidents could not lower our resolve to fight terrorism.
“Army will extend full support to all concerned for holding the event as scheduled,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted the army chief as saying.
Earlier PSL chairman Najam Sethi said the league’s finishing game will be held in Lahore if cricket fans and citizens of Pakistan were ready to watch the match without foreign players.
“Terrorists of all hue and colour, their masters, financiers, planners and abettors including from outside will be hunted across the country, held accountable and responded to. Our gains over the years cannot be reversed,” the army chief said.
#COAS visited Lhr. Ts of all hue/colour, their masters, financiers, planners & abetters incl from outside will be hunted across the country. pic.twitter.com/9uF8OnlWTb
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 14, 2017
General Bajwa also appreciated efforts of intelligence agencies in tracing the culprits, which have resulted in to important detentions, including Afghan nationals, according to the ISPR statement. “He directed to expedite efforts to unearth complete network.”
The COAS also met the mother and family members of the deceased DIG Traffic Ahmed Mubin, who was killed in Monday’s suicide attack. He also expressed his condolences with other bereaved families of the blast.
"Sacrifice of your son and those of our nation shall not go waste", #COAS. pic.twitter.com/0aobRQWAMY
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 14, 2017
"We have to defeat this inhuman brutal mindset and as a nation we shall",#COAS. pic.twitter.com/HmWqgGJar9
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 14, 2017
