R 241445Z NOV 08
FM AMCONSUL LAHORE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3838
INFO AMCONSUL MUMBAI 
NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 
AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 
AMCONSUL LAHORE 
AMCONSUL CHENNAI 
CIA WASHDC
AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 
AMEMBASSY KABUL 
AMCONSUL KARACHI 
AMCONSUL KOLKATA

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. 
 
- - - 
Blasts Disrupt Cultural Event 
- - - 
 
¶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. 
 
- - - 
Police Say Firecrackers Caused the Blast 
- - - 
 
¶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. 
 
- - - 
October Juice Shop Blasts Related? 
- - - 
 
¶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. 
 
- - - 
Comment: Mischief Could Slide Into Terrorism 
- - - 
 
¶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