Putin: Lahore suicide attack is ‘barbaric’

Putin says that the attacks in Lahore, Pakistan are endemic of the barbarity and inhumanity of a terrorist movement that has no respect for life [Xinhua]

The Kremlin in Moscow issued a press release on Monday citing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s condemnation of the suicide bombing attack in Lahore, Pakistan, which killed at least 70 people and injured more than 300.

The press release said that Putin “supports the efforts of Pakistan in the fight against the terrorist threat … and is interested in stepping up international anti-terrorist cooperation, at both regional and global levels”.

The Russian president went on to say that the attack in Lahore was evidence of the barbarity and inhumanity of terrorism, which does not distinguish between men, women and children.

Lahore officials said that at least 29 children were among those killed in the suicide attack at a makeshift amusement park in Lahore on Sunday.

The Kremlin said that Putin had conveyed the condolences of the Russian people to Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Meanwhile, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko also expressed his country’s condolences for the loss of life in the deadly suicide attack.

He said that his country stands in solidarity with the people of Pakistan in combating terrorism.

On Monday, PM Sharif said he had cancelled a scheduled visit to Washington in the wake of the Lahore attack.

“Terrorists have been deprived of their hideouts, training camps and infrastructure and now their remnants are attacking soft targets like educational institutions, public places and recreation areas,” he said in a televised address.

“Action against terrorists [will] continue till we make them accountable for the last drop of the blood,” Sharif added.

The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies