Indonesia Condemns Lahore Bombing

Jakarta, (Antara) - Indonesia strongly condemns the Sunday evening suicide bomb attack in Lahore, Pakistan, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated.

"Indonesia strongly condemns the suicide bombing in Lahore. Acts of terrorism cannot be justified for any reasons," President Jokowi noted on his Twitter account @jokowi on Monday.

The Indonesian president then expressed his deep sympathy to the families of the victims of the bomb attack.

Reuters reported that most of the victims of the bomb attack at a park in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday evening were women and children enjoying an Easter weekend outing.

The Pakistani authorities have launched a hunt on Monday for the militants behind the suicide bombing that killed at least 65 people and wounded some 300 others in an attack that targeted Christians and was claimed by a Taliban faction that once declared ties with Islamic State.

Pakistan has been plagued by militant violence for the last 15 years, since it joined a US-led campaign against Islamist militancy after the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks on the United States.

A faction of the Pakistani Taliban called Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has claimed responsibility for the attack and has issued a direct challenge to the government.(*)