Eyewitness: Lahore attacks

Aamir Shazad was close to the building of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore when it was attacked by gunmen. He describes how the simultaneous attacks on security forces affected the city.

Police sealed off buildings as the attacks occurred

I witnessed the attack in March, although I was a bit late this time. Still, I reached the building before the media and TV cameras had arrived.

There weren't big explosions. I saw a few policemen rushing towards the building, then there were the special forces and the terrorism squads arriving. Then they started firing. I was standing about 150ft [46m] away.

The whole of Lahore has come to a standstill - it's like a warfare, it's too much Aamir Shazad

Soon afterwards the police started to evacuate the area. The people gathered nearby were pushed further away and the area was cordoned off. All the buildings have been evacuated and the area is closed in a radius of 3km.

Later I saw the dead bodies of three policemen as they were being brought to the nearby hospital.

This attack is very similar to one on the Sri Lanka cricket team. The attackers are very professional and well-trained. These are the Punjabi Taliban. They are attacking everything they see.

This time is a bit different from the last time. You can tell that all the attacks were planned in a hurry.

The Taliban wanted to give a message to the government through these simultaneous attacks - we can do anything, we can be anywhere.

Security is on high alert everywhere in the country. It's like warfare.

I feel sorry for my fellow citizens. The whole of Lahore has come to a standstill - several areas are cordoned off, markets are off and there are traffic jams. Every Lahore resident is glued to the TV to get the latest updates. Everyone is concerned. This is too much.

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