On 19th August, Law Minister Raja Basharat had tweeted stating that the CTD (Police Counter-Terrorism Department) would be submitting a report of the incident after conducting a combined operation and inquiry. He added that Chief Minister, Usman Buzdar had also been fully briefed about the incident, and he had instructed all relevant authorities to put forward their findings in a meeting on 19th August.
Post the meeting today, CM Usman Buzdar has announced to provide the Bahawalnagar blast victims with compensation; those who suffered severe injuries will be provided with Rupees 500,000 each while the ones suffering from milder injuries will be given Rupees 100,000.
A bomb blast had occurred during an Ashura procession near Jamia Masjid in Bahawalnagar on August 18th; according to certain sources, a grenade had been thrown towards the procession by a man. Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat had stated that the attacker has been taken into custody, and a thorough investigation is being carried out regarding the breach in security.
3 people were killed and several were in critical conditions post the incident, and all those injured were moved to Victoria Hospital situated nearby. Social media was flooded with sensitive content of the incident, displaying triggering details of the incident following the blast.
During the sacred month of Muharram, security details had been instructed to remain high, especially around Imam Bargahs and other places where Ashura processions take place; mobile services were temporarily suspended on 9th and 10th Muharram, roadblocks were put up and security personnel has been deployed to specific areas to ensure safe execution of Jaloos throughout the span of the month.
