BLASTS MAR INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EVENT IN LAHORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAHORE 000309


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV PTER PK
SUBJECT: BLASTS MAR INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EVENT IN LAHORE

CLASSIFIED BY: Clinton Taylor, Acting Principal Officer,
Consulate Lahore, U.S. Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Summary: Three small blasts at an international cultural
festival in Lahore November 24 injured two persons; no Americans
were injured. The Punjab police arrested one suspect, a
16-year-old Afghan worker. Although no group has taken credit,
most commentators speculated that the explosions were the work
of those who disapproved of western dance/music performances
and connected the incident to early October blasts at three
juice shops known as meeting places for unmarried couples. End
Summary.

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Blasts Disrupt Cultural Event
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2. (SBU) Three low-intensity explosions between 2200 and 2215 on
the night of November 22 at the Punjab Arts and Language Center
(also known as Punjabi Complex) and the Alhamra Cultural Complex
at Gaddafi Stadium disrupted the second-to-last night of the
annual World Performing Arts Festival. Three people were
injured in the blast. Although no group has taken credit for
the explosions, the police arrested a 13-year-old Afghan boy who
arrived with his schoolbag, according to the police. Six others
were also detained, according to news sources. Punjab Governor
Salman Taseer, attending the performance, safely fled after the
second blast. Although the festival involved performers from 85
countries, no Americans were injured.

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Police Say Firecrackers Caused the Blast
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3. (C) Although initial reports indicated that a timing devices
were found on the scene, police told our FSN November 24 that a
one-kilogram and two half-kilogram firecrackers caused the
blasts. The supposed timing components came from wiring that
came out of the wall, he continued. Although just firecrackers,
the detonations caused physical damage to the building,
shattered several windows and injured three people, news
correspondents pointed out. Festival organizers told our FSN
that they received no threats before or after the blasts, and
said that the police provided adequate, "vigilant" security.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who had just returned from
China, condemned the blasts November 23 and pledged to protect
Punjab's citizens.

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October Juice Shop Blasts Related?
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4. (C) Several observers related the November 22 blasts to the
three October 7 bombs that exploded at juice shops near Old
Lahore that seriously injured five bystanders. The tall booths
in the juice shops provided a place for unmarried couples to
meet surreptitiously. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN)
Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Khawaja Imran Nazir told
poloff November 24 that "these fanatics don't like places where
the genders mix." Moreover, he continued, they object to
dancing, as reflected officially in a recent High Court ruling
against public dance performances. Naveed Chaudhry, member of
the Local Governmnet Commission in Punjab and former Pakistan
People's Party (PPP) Information Secretary, thought that the
perpetrators sought to discourage entertainment. Former
Information and Broadcasting Minister Khalid Khan Kharan intoned
that "this is just the beginning" of the end of cultural
performances in Punjab.

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Comment: Mischief Could Slide Into Terrorism
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5. (C) The three November 22 blasts, coming after the October 7
juice shop bombs, prolong a disturbing trend in Lahore that
targets public performances and meeting places. Regardless of
whether the same group perpetrated the two incidents, they have
generated uncertainty in a cosmopolitan city known for its rich
cultural history.

TAYLOR