Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday that there was “clear evidence” of India carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan, adding that the government has decided to present the matter before the international community.

“We have decided to bring our stance before the world and unveil India’s face of terrorism,” he said in a press conference in Islamabad, flanked by Punjab Counter Terrorism Department Additional Inspector General Imran Mehmood.

“For decades, Pakistan has been burning in the fire of terrorism. Our mosques, imambargahs, important buildings, and gatherings have been targeted.

“Today, the matter that we are putting before you […] we have evidence of India’s involvement in it,” Sanaullah said, referring to the Johar Town blast in Lahore last year.

In June 2021, a powerful blast near the residence of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Johar Town had killed three people and injured 24 others, including a police constable.

Six-year-old Abdul Haq, his father Abdul Malik, 50, and a young passerby died in the explosion that left a four-foot-deep and eight-foot-wide crater on the road and damaged several houses and shops nearby.

Days after the incident, the then information minister Fawad Chaudhry and national security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf told a press conference that the mastermind of the attack was “an Indian citizen and he is associated with [Indian intelligence agency] RAW”.

Earlier this year, Dawn reported that the Punjab CTD had claimed to have arrested the mastermind as well as the facilitator of the Johar Town bomb blast from Balochistan. They were identified as Samiul Haq and Uzair Akbar.

In the press conference today, IG Mehmood briefed on the investigation of the blast and revealed that the authorities had reached the culprits.

“Basically, at 9am on June 23, 2021, a bomb blast was reported in Lahore’s Johar Town. Three citizens were martyred and 22 were wounded in the blast. To date, no terrorist organisation has accepted responsibility for the attack,” he said.

The official recalled that the police had traced the suspect within 16 hours of the incident. “And within 24 hours we arrested three terrorists.

“The first character was Peter Paul David who was caught through [the details] of his vehicle. Sajjad Hussain, who was arrested alongside, was David’s assistant,” he said.

Ziaullah, Mehmood continued, was arrested on Peter’s identification and “we found out that he was the main culprit behind the attack”.

“Eid Gul and his wife were arrested after 5-6 days. Gul was the person who David gave the car to and he outfitted it with ammunition and bombs,” he said, adding that the video of the blast showed Gul coming out of the vehicle.

After Gul’s interrogation, the CTD was finally able to arrest Sami ul Haq, who Mehmood claimed was the main handler of the RAW-sponsored terror activities in Pakistan.

“Subsequently, we got Haq’s red warrants issued through Interpol. After that, purely on an intelligence and investigation basis, we were informed this person was entering Pakistan and we arrested him on April 22 along with his brother-in-law.”

The police official further revealed that Haq’s brother-in-law, identified as Uzair Akbar, assisted him in terror activities. “We also found out about Naveed Akhtar, who did the surveillance and selected the target.

“Naveed was a labourer in the Middle East and was in jail because he could not pay his fine. A RAW agent approached him and told him that he would pay his fine, but then, Naveed would have to engage in terror activities against Pakistan,” Mehmood said in the press conference.

He added that as soon as Naveed was arrested, several terror activities were thwarted. “When we arrested Sami ul Haq, Naveed was unaware of his arrest. Sami ul Haq told us that he was about to meet Naveed on May 10. We were then able to apprehend Naveed as well.”

As the investigation continued, Mehmood said, more RAW agents were uncovered.

“We also found out that close to a million dollars of terror financing was done through India to spread terrorism in Pakistan through different channels,” he revealed, adding that all the arrested persons have been sentenced to death three times by the court.

Mehmood also said that the CTD had clear evidence “which is undeniable about India and RAW’s involvement”.

“We are now capable of taking the matter to United Nations,” he added.

Meanwhile, Sanaullah said that the Foreign Office would, henceforth, raise this matter before the world. “India will be exposed because there is clear evidence that it is directly involved.”

He pointed out the Johar Town blast case was “complete” in which culprits were caught and substantial evidence was found. “Thus, we have decided to put it before the international community as it will have its own weight and impact.”

The minister added that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) had support from the RAW for terrorist activities in Pakistan.