LAHORE: At least 69 people including women and children died and more than 300 others injured in a suicide blast here on Sunday evening. The President, Prime Minister, federal ministers and leaders of various political and religious parties of the country have strongly condemned that attack and termed the act of targeting women and children as cowardly act.
Superintendent Police (SP) Police Iqbal Town, Dr Muhammad Iqbal said that the blast in parking of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Party in Iqbal Town area of the provincial capital Lahore when a suicide bomber with explosives laden motorcycle blasted him.
The police, Rescue personnel, Pakistan Army soldiers and local people rushed the scene of the blast and started rescue operation.
Eye witnesses said that there were dead bodies scattered everywhere and injured lying in pool of blood crying for help. There were no security personnel in and outside the Park when the incident took place, they added.
Emergency was clarified declared in the hospital of the city and the injured were shifted to Sheikh Zayed and other private hospitals of the city through taxis, private cars, rickshaws and even through motorcycles. According to hospital sources condition of dozens of wounded people was stated to be serious and it was feared that death toll could rise further.
A large number of families, especially women and children, were present in park. The area is a renowned residential area of Lahore and the crowd was “unusually large” because of Easter.
The roads were also jammed and queues of vehicles were seen till Moon Market.
President Mamoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, federal minister including Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PTI chairman Imran Khan, JI Ameer Sirajul Haq, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and others have strongly condemned that attack. They expressed sympathies with the families of the victims of the blast and prayed for early recovery of the injured. The PM and Interior Minister said that terrorist through such cowardly acts of terrorism can’t weaken the government’s resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism. They also directed for providing best possible treatment facilities to those injured in the attack.