Monday, March 28, 2016
At least 70 people were killed and over 300 wounded in a suicide attack at a public park in the eastern
Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday, rescue officials said. The blast occurred in the parking area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, just
outside the exit gate and a few feet away from children's swings.
A
large number of people including Christians were present in the
Gulshan—e—Iqbal Park in Iqbal Town area here when the blast occurred
yesterday, leaving many in a pool of blood.
"The toll has risen to 72. The rescue operation is continuing," a
rescue
official of the Punjab Province government told Express News.
Eyewitnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the parking lot once
the dust had settled. The park was particularly busy on Sunday evening
due to the Easter holiday weekend.
Pakistan police say a suicide bomber was behind the blast. Those killed
included women and children. Over 300 people were also injured in the
attack and many of them were in a critical condition.
Most of the injured were women and children, Jam Sajjad Hussain, a
rescue service spokesman, told Reuters. He added that more than 30
injured had been taken to various hospitals in the city.
Witnesses
said they hear children screaming as people carried the injured in
their arms, while frantic relatives searched for their loved ones.
"We took the injured to hospitals on rickshaws and taxis," one eye witness said.
He
added that the crowd was unusually large because of Easter celebration.
Doctors described frenzied scenes at hospitals, with staff treating
casualties on floors and in corridors, as officials tweeted calls for
blood donations.
Chief
of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif chaired a high-level meeting late
Sunday night, which was attended by heads of the Inter-Services
Intelligence(ISI) and Military Intelligence(MI) among other military
officials, said Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa on Twitter
The
army chief ordered concerned commanders and intellignce officials to
immediately start operations to nab perpetrators of the attack, said
Bajwa.
"We must bring the
killers of our innocent brothers, sisters and children to justice and
will never allow these savage inhumans to over-run our life and
liberty," Bajwa said in a post on Twitter.
Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif also chaired a meeting at the PM House where he
was briefed by his security advisers on the attack, a statement released
from his office said.
A faction of the Pakistani
Taliban called Jamaat ul Ahrar claimed responsiblity for the attack, and
issued a direct challenge to the government.
"The
target was Christians," said their spokesperson, Ehsanulla Ehsan. "We
want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have
entered Lahore"
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