Deadly bomb blast hits Lahore

An explosion has targeted a Pakistani government census team, killing at least five people in the eastern city of Lahore. The blast on Wednesday morning in Pakistan's second largest city also wounded at least nine people, all suffering from major injuries.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group claimed responsibility, saying it was a suicide attack.

Terrorism?

The attack appeared to be an act of terrorism. The target seems to be the census team and the soldiers guarding them.

Pakistan's Bureau of Statistics launched its first door-to-door population census since 1998 last month. Working in conjunction with the military, it has deployed 200,000 troops to provide security for the exercise.

Pakistan’s military announced it was launching a new operation; dubbed Radd-al-Fasaad, or Elimination of Mischief/Chaos - across the country, to cement the gains made against the Pakistan Taliban during a previous three-year operation launched in 2014.

Analysis

Pakistan has seen a surge in violence in the past two months. Those attacks were claimed by the Pakistan Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

At least 13 people were killed in Lahore when a suicide bomber targeted police at a protest demonstration on February the 13^th.

Assessment

The frequency of these attacks has increased, thereby signalling a message to the powers at be in Islamabad. The broader attacks on Shia’s, Sufi’s, Military, Police etc. might indicate the terror groups are desperate to make a statement of intent. Have we seen this pattern elsewhere?