Militants in Pakistan have launched coordinated attacks on police and intelligence buildings in Lahore, killing at least 35 people and injuring scores of others. The assaults were the latest episode in a fortnight of violence in the country, that comes ahead of a planned military offensive in an extremist stronghold.

Listen to an interview with Lahore correspondent Rashid Rehman

More than 20 gunmen stormed the police commando academy in Bedian on the outskirts of Lahore and another group targeted a police school in the suburb of Manawan. The third assault was on the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Ongoing violence
Our correspondent in Lahore, Rashid Rehman, told Radio Netherlands the violence is likely to continue:

“When the military offensive in Swat earlier this year succeeded, it was obvious not all the militants had been killed or captured – some of them had melted away – and it was almost inevitable that having been deprived of that base there, they would strike in other places unexpectedly.”

Both the FIA building and the school in Manawan have been targeted before, but this time militants took families of officers hostage. Police later freed them during a major operation and are investigating the possibility some of the perpetrators were women.

Increasingly lawless
Pakistan has become increasingly lawless in recent weeks and the government is concerned fighting is spreading to the political heartland from the traditional areas of unrest in the northwestern tribal region.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: “They are involved in a guerrilla war, First they were active in the North West Frontier Province, now there are engaged in Punjab. They are terrorists paid to destabilise Pakistan.”

Not necessarily Taliban
Our correspondent says the insurgents are not necessarily from the Taliban.

“We have been saying for a long time that…. Over the years a nexus has emerged between the militants in the tribal areas and militants in southern Punjab who were originally oriented to the struggle in Kashmir.

“Now we are seeing the results of that nexus in terms of coordinated operations outside the tribal areas, outside the frontier provinces and reasonably far away from the border.”