Over the last year or so Lahore has been rocked a number of times by high-profile targeted assaults by Islamist militants. These have included attacks on the regional headquarters of the law enforcement outfit, the Federal Investigation Agency, a naval college, the visiting Sri Lankan team earlier this month, and now the gory siege of a police training school barely miles away from the Wagah border. Such attacks are clearly aimed at hitting where it hurts most; but the militants are also making it very clear as to where they stand, what values they espouse, and steering public opinion in the right direction. There is, in the end, something in the Lahori soul that will not give in to intolerance and extremism. A vast majority takes immense pride in their culturally throbbing, fun city.

Lahoris may have been rudely shaken by terrorist attacks, but they remain a hardy, resilient bunch. For over a month, till Monday, the city was virtually without a government — ever since President Zardari imposed governor’s rule following a controversial court judgment that disqualified the former chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, from holding public office. As the Sharifs’ Muslim League-led government was packed off, the People’s Party governor, Salman Taseer, sacked and transferred intelligence and police officers en masse, suspecting them of being loyal to the Sharifs.

The incompetence of the men in charge of Lahore and Punjab can be gauged by the fact that when the Sri Lankans were attacked in the heart of the city on March 3, the just-appointed police chief had the nerve to say that he did not “expect” such an attack and thus his force was caught unawares. No heads rolled.

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