ISLAMABAD, NOV 21: An explosion in a congested market in Lahore, deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif's home constituency, on Saturday left eight people dead and 17 injured. Within hours of the blast an unknown outfit, Al-Nawaz, describing itself as a group of supporters of Sharif, claimed responsibility. It vowed to carry out more such acts till Sharif was reinstated. Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), has denied any association with the group. Both the PML and intelligence agencies have alleged involvement of India's RAW in the incident.Sharif has vowed to wage a legal battle against the Army takeover and the dismissal of his government and, according to his party sources, directed his lawyers to file a petition before the supreme court in this regard. It is likely to be filed on Monday.In an interview to a Pakistani journalist, who managed to sneak into the Malir judicial magistrate's court in Karachi on Saturday where Sharif was produced to witness recording of statements ofprosecution witnesses, he has described as ``engineered'' the charges of treason, attempted murder and hijacking against him and said he would get justice if the courts were not ``pressured''.The toll in the blast rose to eight on Sunday after two more people died in the hospital. Six people had been killed instantly and 17 were injured when the bomb planted on a bicycle went off during peak shopping hours in Lahore's Sootar Mandi market. Officials said at least 10 people were critically injured and, according to hospital sources, seven were in a serious condition.A fax message received by the newspapers Jung and The News from the hitherto unknown Al-Nawaz on Sunday said, ``We have carried out the blast to register our protest against the hijacking of our great leader Mohammad Nawaz Sharif's government by the bloody military regime''.Signed by ``true loyalists'' of Sharif, it added ``we pledge that we will continue similar activities until the government of our great leader Mohammad Nawaz Sharif isrestored''.The PML reacted quickly. ``This (Al-Nawaz) has nothing to do with the Muslim League or Nawaz Sharif,'' party senior vice-president Ejazul Haq said, adding that ``this was probably done by outside agencies like the RAW or someone trying to create problems between the PML and the present government.''He said his party's policy was ``no confrontation with the Army'' and that ``the PML was following all legal course and would seek legal recourse against the suspension of parliament and the assemblies.'' He asserted: ``We shall not create a law and order situation''.The official APP news agency, quoting intelligence agency officials, has claimed that initial investigations into the blast indicates a ``RAW-sponsored incident''. The intelligence sources said a similar modus operandi had been adopted in the blasts at Sialkot and Daska earlier this year.Meanwhile, Sharif is learnt to have had a detailed meeting with the top constitutional lawyer and his former law minister, Khalid Anwar, inKarachi, where he is kept in police custody now, two days ago, according to PML sources. At this meeting it was decided to file a petition in the supreme court.Anwar told Jung he had a nearly one-and-a-half-hour meeting with Sharif on Friday after obtaining special permission from the court. ``All the charges against me are engineered.My conscience is clear. Myself or my colleagues have not done anything for which we should be repentant,'' Sharif told the reporter of Jung in the exclusive interview. Asserting that ``whatever is in the case is false'', he said ``I have faith in god and hope that I will be released.''
