Pakistan says foreign hand behind recent terror attacks

Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan said Saturday that foreign hand is behind recent terrorist attacks.

He did not mention any country but said the culprits involved in Lahore and Peshawar incidents have been identified and it is proved that terrorists are using Afghan refugees as facilitators for their acts.

Talking to reporters in Islamabad, he said some suspects have been arrested from Attock, Hazro and Taxila, three towns in Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital.

More operations will be carried out in the coming days to apprehend the foreign elements and their local facilitators, the minister said.

"Terrorists are making an organized effort to disrupt the law and order situation, but they will never in their nefarious designs," the minister said after a series of bombings shook the country.

He said that Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the last four decades and now it is the responsibility of the refugees to point out the terrorist elements from their ranks.

"The Afghan government has been asked to take strict actions against the terrorists wanted by Pakistan or hand them over to Pakistan to bring them to justice," Nisar said.

Officials say that nearly 100 people have been killed and over 300 others injured in terrorists attacks over the last five days.

Daesh, or the Islamic State group in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack at a shrine in southern Sindh province which killed 88 people, while two Taliban groups claimed attacks in Lahore and Peshawar. Endit