Prime Minister ISLAMABAD, Dec 26, Reuter: An explosive device was found in a flowerpot behind security barriers where thousands of people were awaiting to welcome Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at Lahore Airport, A government Minister said on Monday.
Interior Minister Aitzaz Ahsan said in a statement quoted by the official Associated Press of Pakistan News Agency those Security Guards found a plastic explosive with a six-inch (15 cm) fuse before Bhutto arrived at the airport on Sunday.
“A very large crowd unnerved the saboteur who abandoned the device and made good his escape,” the statement said.
It added that the explosive was not sufficient to cause any loss of life but could have caused a stampede in the crowd.
“The government takes a very serious view of this lapse in security concerning the movement of the Prime Minister,” it said. Officials said the incident was under investigation.
Bhutto, who took office on December 2 as the first woman to govern a Moslem Nation, was beginning a two-day visit to Lahore, Capital of Punjab province.
Kuldip Singh Thiara and his family.
Article extracted from this publication >> December 30, 1988
