As many as fifteen people were killed on Sunday and eighty others sustained injuries in twin blasts near Saint John Catholic Church and Christ Church in Youhanabad area of Lahore. The incident took place when Sunday prayer ceremony was underway in the churches attended by more than 500 people.
According to reports, some unknown miscreants opened fire near one church after which the blast occurred whereas suicide bomber exploded himself outside the second church on being stopped at the gate. Initial reports suggested that two suicide bombers had tried to enter the gates of two churches but were stopped at the gates by the security guards on which they blew themselves up.
Enraged protesters after the Lahore church bombings burnt alive two suspects in Youhanabad and kept desecrating their bodies for hours. The police tried to free the suspects, but in vain. This incident is the prime example of mistrust of the masses on the police. People are of the view if they would hand over the culprits to the police, they would be released on one pretext or another.
If the steps not taken to enhance the trust of the masses on the police, it would be hard to control the new culture of mobocracy. The mob should be apprehended, tried and brought to justice for taking the reins of law into their own hands. These self-appointed enforcers of the law should be made an example of.
We are fighting war against the monster of terror. At this point, there is dire need to beef up intelligence. Military operations can be conducted in tribal areas and in less populated areas but terrorists come up with a policy to attack the cities and conventional military operation is not the way to deal with it. Intelligence-led operations in the cities can help to tackle the terrorist attacks in the cities.