Blast kills at least 13, injures 71 in Lahore

 A suspected suicide explosion  outside the Punjab assembly in the provincial capital of Lahore on Monday killed at least 13 people including two senior police officers and injured more than 50, police said.
The blast took place while hundreds of chemists and pharmaceutical manufacturers were holding a protest against a drug act passed by the assembly, amid a strike by medicine stores across the most populated province of the country.
Police cordoned off the area near the crowded Mall Road, one of the city’s main arteries, as witnesses fled amid fears of a second explosion, with images of the injured being carried away shown by local media.
Police identified the deceased officers as senior superintendent Zahid Gondal and deputy inspector general of traffic police, retired army captain Ahmad Mobin.
The officers were negotiating with the protesters when the explosion ripped through the crowd.
“The blast was so powerful. I saw the injured and bodies, saw flames surrounding the blast site, people were crying,” witness Muhammad Tariq told AFP.
Rescue official Deeba Shahnaz said at least 10 people had died in the explosion, while some 71 other wounded people had been rushed to city hospitals, in figures confirmed by hospital sources.
The attack “seems to be a suicide blast”, senior police official Amin Wains said, adding it had apparently targeted police trying to regulate the protest.
“Police at the scene have told me that apparently it’s a suicide blast, we are investigating,” Rana Sanaullah, the provincial law minister, told AFP.
The Pakistani Taliban faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar swiftly claimed responsibility for the blast, which came three days after it announced it would carry out a series of attacks on government installations around the country.
A spokesman for the group warned in an statement that Monday’s blast was “just the start”.
Lahore, the country’s cultural capital, suffered one of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks during 2016, a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar suicide bomb in a park over Easter that killed more than 70 — including many children.
According to media reports the National Counterterrorism Authority (NACTA) had last week warned of a possible terrorist attack in Lahore and asked for strict vigilance around vital installations, important buildings, hospitals and schools.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that maximum preparations were made after the threat alert was received.
“The spot where the blast took place is always under threat. Even if there was no alert, strict security measures are always taken in the area,” he said.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the Lahore blast and in separate statement vowed that such dastardly acts cannot shake the resolve of the nation to eliminate terrorism completely.
Affirming the state’s resolve against the menace of terrorism, they said this scourge will be rooted out.
“Today, tragedy has struck Lahore. Alongside innocent civilians, we have lost two of our own brave police officers Captain Mubeen and Zahid Gondal. They were good men who died serving and protecting the people of this great country,” the prime minister said.

Source: Gulfnews