Page 9 - Aruba Today

WORLD NEWS 9
Tuesday 29 March 2016

Pakistan PM vows to fight terror after 70 died in Lahore

ZARAR KHAN headquartered, and said 44 as Muslim, according to
dozens were arrested. Also Lahore Police Superinten-
KATHY GANNON Monday, Pakistan started dent Mohammed Iqbal.
observing a three-day Another 12 bodies have
Associated Press mourning period declared not yet been identified, he
after the Lahore attack. said.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) The Lahore bombing took Ahsanullah Ahsan, a
place in a park that was spokesman for the break-
— Pakistan’s prime minister crowded with families, with away Taliban faction, told
many women and children The Associated Press late
on Monday vowed to elim- among the victims. At least Sunday that along with
300 people were wounded striking Christians celebrat-
inate perpetrators of terror in the bombing. ing Easter, the attack also
Even though a break- meant to protest Paki-
attacks such as the mas- away Taliban group, stan’s military operation in
known as Jamaat-ul-Ah- the tribal regions. The same
sive suicide bombing that rar, said it specifically tar- militant group also took
geted Pakistan’sChristian responsibility for the twin
targeted Christians gath- community, most of those bombings of a Christian
killed in Lahore were Mus- Church in Lahore last year.
ered for Easter the previous lims, who were also gath- In recent weeks, Paki-
ered in the park for the Sun- stan’s Islamist parties have
day in the eastern city of day weekend holiday. The been threatening wide-
park is a popular spot in the spread demonstration to
Lahore, killing 70 people. heart of Lahore. protest what they say is
Of the dead, 14 have been Prime Minister Nawaz Shar-
The attack underscored Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif talks to an injured victim identified as Christians and if’s pro-Western stance.
of Sunday’s suicide bombing during his visit to a local hospital
both the militants’ ability to in Lahore, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2016. Pakistan’s prime
minister on Monday vowed to eliminate perpetrators of terror at-
stage large-scale attacks tacks such as the massive suicide bombing that targeted Chris-
tians gathered for Easter the previous day in the eastern city of
despite a months-long gov-

ernment offensive against

them and the precarious

position of Pakistan’s mi- tal of Islamabad, extrem- ia. The army, which was
ists protested for a second deployed Sunday to con-
nority Christians. A break- day outside Parliament tain the rioters, remained
and other key buildings in out on the streets.
away Taliban faction, the city center. The dem- The military reported raids
onstrators set cars on fire, in eastern Punjab prov-
which publicly supports the demanding that authorities ince, where several deadly
impose Islamic law or Shar- militant organizations are
Islamic State group, has

claimed responsibility for

the attack.

Meanwhile, in the capi-

Palestinian government asking UN to investigate Israel killings

DANIELLA CHESLOW found the soldier arrived on threat from the Palestinian Israeli Channel 2 TV News of error. Several national-
Associated Press the scene some six minutes that was incapacitated,” found that 57 percent of istic lawmakers, including
JERUSALEM (AP) — The after the initial incident, Lerner said. Other Israelis Israeli Jews opposed to ar- Naftali Bennett of the Jew-
Palestinian government and that the second shoot- say the soldier was acting resting and investigating ish Home party, accused
asked the United Nations ing occurred several min- in self-defense. A poll con- the soldier. The poll ques- detractors of abandoning
on Monday to launch an utes after that. ducted by Midgam Re- tioned 522 people and the soldier before he was
investigation into alleged “There was no apparent search and Consulting for had a 4.2 percent margin given a fair hearing.
extrajudicial killings by Is-
rael following the deadly
shooting last week by an Is-
raeli soldier of a wounded
Palestinian assailant as he
lay on the ground.
The Israeli military has de-
tained the soldier while it
investigates the shooting,
captured on video by a
Palestinian activist. Pales-
tinian official Saeb Erekat
said that past Israeli inves-
tigations have failed to
“serve justice,” claiming in-
stead that Israel has been
“rewarded with impunity.”
The shooting came amid a
six-month wave of Palestin-
ian attacks that have killed
28 Israelis and two Ameri-
cans. Over the same time,
at least 188 Palestinians
have died by Israeli fire.
Israel says most of those
were attackers while the
rest died in clashes with
Israeli forces. The Palestin-
ians say the killings amount
to extrajudicial slayings.
The shooting has divided
Israeli public opinion.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a mili-
tary spokesman, said a
preliminary investigation