Note: This article unearths Indian state-sponsored terrorist ring involved in Johar Town Blast, Lahore, Pakistan on 23rd June 2021.
On the 23rd of June 2021, India’s external intelligence agency RAW conducted a terrorist attack in the suburbs of Johar Town, Lahore, Pakistan leading to the death of 3 civilians, and injuring 22 innocent citizens. The VBIED (Vehicle-Bourne Improvised Explosives Device) has 200 kilograms of explosives and destroyed 7 residential houses and 12 vehicles.
The plan was hatched in New Delhi somewhere in 2020, and after approval from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was put into action. It was not the first time that India would be conducting a major terror attack inside Pakistan and would not be the last.
R&AW, Indian intelligence, was given the task. They initially recruited one Bablu Srivastava, a criminal running an extortion and kidnapping-for-ransom ring out of Bareilly Jail in Uttar Pradesh under the patronage of RAW.
He became the mastermind behind this terrorist attack. Sanjay Kumar Tiwari, RAW operative in the UAE was the supervisor of this operation. He was aided by Aslam Khan (alias), also a RAW agent operating out of Nepal and Maldives. He was financed by two brothers, both working with RAW, namely Zaheem and Saheem Sheikh (both based in the UAE). They were also assisted by one Ali Budesh, who runs RAW’s gold-smuggling network in the Middle East. What follows is a chilling account of how India’s state machinery organised a ruthless terror operation against civilians, using underworld criminals as a nexus.
In mid-2020 Naveed Akhtar, a Pakistani national imprisoned in the UAE due to visa problems and non-payment of fines is approached by Saheem Sheikh, an Indian RAW operative.
After some time, Saheem discloses his affiliation with Indian intelligence, and offers to get him out of jail and a large financial sum to solve his problems. Mr. Akhtar agrees after some persuasion. His fines are paid, and he travels back to Pakistan, now a RAW informant.
Mr. Akhtar is then introduced to Bablu by Saheem Sheikh who informs him of the attack plan.
Mr. Akhtar is asked to rent a hideout near the target location. Mr. Akhtar shifts his family to the hideout to mask his real intentions. He then is instructed to travel to Maldives to meet with RAW operatives, who give him $50,000 and order him to meet RAW’s Afghani execution team in Pakistan who will conduct the attack. After returning to Pakistan,he deposits 3.3 million rupees into two of his accounts and buys a car Toyota license plate number LEA-10-3200. After reconnaissance of the target location for the terrorist attack, Mr. Akhtar sends a video message to Bablu (RAW front man and operator). The head of the “execution group”, Eid Gul, an Afghan national living in Pakistan, and the main character in a husband-wife IED making team.
Mr. Gul stays at Mr. Akhtar’s hideout for two days in March 2021. He hands him the detonators and time device. Mr. Gul tells Mr. Akhtar that he is working under a RAW operative namely Sami Ul Haq (alias) who has already been credited with conducting two terrorist bomb blasts in Pakistan (one in Islamabad in 2018 and in Lahore in 2019). He said he got 5 million rupees in dollars after the attacks and tells Mr. Akhtar he will also be handsomely paid. After this meeting Mr. Akhtar was again called to Maldives for a final meeting with RAW operatives, including one Sanjay Tewari. Currently, Interpol has red warrants out for Mr. Tewari. The two met at the Bombay Darbar Hotel (ironic) in Hulhumale, Maldives.
Mr. Akhtar was informed that he had done his job and RAW is sending another person, namely Peter, who ran a prostitution ring in Bahrain to supervise the execution part of RAW’s terrorist operation. Mr. Akhtar demanded $200,000 but was only given $50,000 and told the rest of the money will be wired to him after he returns to Pakistan. The final payment after completion of the terrorist attack was negotiated at $500,000.
Mr. Akhtar deposited 4.5 million rupees into his bank account when he returned to Pakistan, bought a house in Bhakkar and shifted his family there. He also bought a second car, license plate number LEA-09-7625.
He the received 2 million rupees wired by western union from the UAE. After this, Peter arrived from Bahrain to supervise the execution of the terrorist attack. The execution phase started when the Afghan national Eid Gul and his wife started making the IED to be fitted into the car at his hideout in Bahria Town Phase 8, Rawalpindi. After preparation of the IED by June 16, 2021, Mr. Gul asked for the vehicle on which to mount the IED (200 kgs in total explosives).
On 20 June the team met at 1 AM at a restaurant in Lahore. A million rupees cash was handed over to purchase a vehicle with tampered documents. The vehicle was ordered to be purchased in less than 12 hours.
After the meeting, Mr. Peter Paul purchased the vehicle, a black Toyota Corolla, license plate number LEB-10-9928 from Pindi Bhattian and drove it to Lahore. Videos of evidence are attached below. Pictures from Mr. Peter Paul’s phone and forensic report is also attached. On 21 April final recce of the target location selected for the terrorist attack was done. At the same day Mr. Eid Gul received the car from Mr. Peter Paul.
Mr. Gul took the car to Bahria Town Phase 8 Rawalpindi and mated the IED with the car.
On 23 June 21, Mr. Eid Gul transported the VBIED to Lahore and parked the vehicle at the target location and set the timer for 1 hour. He then escaped the location and booked a ticket to Rawalpindi. The blast occurred at 11:00 AM when Mr. Gul was on the Lahore-Islamabad motorway. After the blast, Mr. Peter Paul and Sami-ul-Haq were updating RAW on the number of casualties caused and even visited Mayo Hospital Lahore for the same. Peter later left for Lahore Airport and was arrested there by Pakistani counterintelligence. More evidence of India’s state and diplomatic involvement in this terrorist attack is attached below.
Sami-Ul-Haq was earlier an Afghan Taliban spokesperson. He escaped to the UAE after the Taliban suspected him of espionage. Sami Ul Haq worked with another Afghan national to feed fabricated information on Pakistan to Middle Eastern and Western intelligence as double agents for Indian intelligence. He was also asked to cultivate an anti-Pakistan terrorist group inside the Afghan Taliban. He received an email from the Indian Consulate in Dubai instructing him to come to a hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal.
There he presented a plan to RAW.
All in all, this terrorist attack in Pakistan by India’s Government and state machinery, with RAW at the forefront, was allotted a total of USD 875,000 from RAW’s purse. Three Pakistani civilians were killed, and 22 civilians were injured.
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