Update:11 killed And 61 Injured In Lahore Bomb Blast
March 8, 2010
Update:11 killed And 61 Injured In Lahore Bomb Blast
:LAHORE: Office of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in K Block of Model Town, Lahore was targeted in a blast Monday. At least 11 people have been killed and 61 have been injured in the blast.
The blast was so intense that it was heard from several kilometers away from the spot whereas smoke can be seen from roofs of the houses located far away from the blast scene. The office building was totally destroyed and a deep crater is formed at the blast scene.
The area is totally residential; however, the target was FIA office located in one of the house, confirmed police sources. Windows of nearby buildings were broken by the explosion. Several people have been feared to be stuck under the rubble.
Rescue activities are underway and the security agencies have cordoned off the area. Emergency has been imposed in nearby hospitals. Jinnah Hospital, Lahore has asked people to donate blood.
DCO Lahore Sajjad Bhutta said that the nature of explosion could not be confirmed so far. He said that around 150 people work in the FIA office and around 60-70 people must have been present at the time of blast as the day was just starting. He said that more than 30% people have been evacuated and injured are being transferred to different nearby hospitals. Responding to a question about reasons of not transferring the FIA office from the residential area despite several requests from the residents, he said that appropriate security measures were taken.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the investigation team will certainly analyze that why the office was not shifted from the area if there was any security threat; however, he said that there was no such threat and the office was not dealing with anti-terrorist activities.
He said that if we talk about the treat to any government office then shifting wouldn’t help because the terrorists have even targeted mosques and markets where only innocent people have been killed. He said that more attention should be given to improve security arrangements to prevent such incidents. When asked how come so much explosive material can be transported to centre of a city when all the security agencies are on high alert, he said that obviously reasons of such security lapse will be analyzed and every possible step will be taken to prevent such acts in future.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has asked IG Punjab to submit report on the blast.
According to SAMAA representative at the Jinnah Hospital, doctors at the hospital were observing a strike which was called off due to the emergency situation and additional medical staff was also called to handle the situation.
A bomb went off in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore during the morning rush hour on Monday but there was no immediate word on the number of casualties, officials said. “There are casualties but at the moment we don’t know how many. I’m on my way,” said city government official Sajjad Bhutta.
The attack outside a federal police office bore all the hallmarks of an operation by al Qaeda-backed Pakistani Taliban militants. The blast left a huge crater in the road outside the office of the main police investigation agency, the Federal Investigation Agency, which was severely damaged.
The agency has been attacked at least twice before in Lahore.
Television showed pictures of a man covered in blood trapped in a car and passersby trying to help him out.
