LAHORE: A man was killed and two dozen others, including a policeman, were injured when a low-intensity bomb exploded outside the Haider Sain Darbar near the general bus stand on Thursday night.
Thursday was a busy day at the shrine and a large number of devotees had gathered there to pay respects to the Sufi saint on the second day of his 38th Urs.The injured were taken to the Mayo and other hospitals where a state of emergency was declared.
City Division SP Shahzad Asif and Mayo Hospital MS Zahid Pervez confirmed one death. Dawn
Dr Pervez told a man had been brought dead while 24 people with minor injuries were shifted to the emergency department.
Police cordoned off the area and diverted traffic away from the shrine. They isolated the blast site to help forensic experts and bomb disposable personnel collect evidence.
Quoting a witness, police said the bomb had been hurled from a truck.
It damaged windows of three nearby buildings and some cars and motorcycles parked near the shrine.
SP Asif said security had been beefed up because of threats to shrines and at least 20 policemen had been deployed there.
He said it was a low-intensity bomb planted outside the shrine and rejected an eyewitness account that the bomb was hurled from a truck. AFP adds: Two people were killed and at least a dozen wounded in the bomb blast, officials said.
Local administration chief Ahad Cheema said the explosion took place at the gate of the shrine.
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