Pakistan: Deadly bomb blast rips through Lahore rally
February 13, 2017
Motorcycle bomber hits crowd during protest in eastern Pakistani city, in a deadly attack claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Security forces arrive at the scene after the blast in Lahore [Mohsin Raza/Reuters]
A powerful bomb blast on Monday ripped through a protest in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens, according to officials.
The explosion went off in Lahore’s busy Mall Road during a rally attended by hundreds of pharmacists protesting against changes to a drug sale law outside the provincial assembly building.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban-linked armed group, claimed responsibility for the attack, which also wounded at least 83 people, including media personnel covering the protest.
A spokesman for the group warned in a statement that the blast was “just the start”.
Witnesses told Al Jazeera that the blast occurred near the Punjab assembly building when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle rammed into a police vehicle.
At least five police officers were killed in the attack, according to Mushtaq Sukhera, inspector general of police in Punjab province.
“It was a suicide attack. The bomber exploded himself when successful negotiations were under way between police officials and the protesters,” Sukhera told reporters.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from the blast site, said security forces had cordoned off the area on Mall Road, one of Lahore’s main arteries.
“The explosion was heard for several kilometres. It was a very powerful explosive device,” Hyder said, adding that a state of emergency had been declared in the eastern city.
