Rescue workers carry a blast victim at the site of a blast in Faisalabad, March 8, 2011. — Photo by AP

LAHORE: A massive bomb blast by militants at a gas station in Faisalabad, a city in Pakistan's central Punjab province, Tuesday killed at least 32 people and wounded 125 others, DawnNews reported.

The explosion also damaged nearby buildings.

An office of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and a local gas station were severely damaged in the blast, AP reported. Police said the attack took place close to the office of a ''sensitive'' security agency but the building was undamaged, the AP report said.

Senior government official Naseem Sadiq said explosives were planted in a vehicle parked at the gas station, which also lies near police offices as well as the PIA building.

Regional police chief Aftab Cheema confirmed the attack in Faisalabad, the country's textile-making capital.

“It was a car bomb blast. The explosive was planted in a car. We are investigating whether a suicide bomber was involved or not,” Cheema said.

Television pictures showed the station had been reduced to a pile of bricks and gnarled metal as rescue officials worked to remove rubble from the scene to search for survivors and ambulance vehicles ferried the injured away.

City commissioner Tahir Husain told a private television channel that rescue officials were heaving bricks and metal away to save those trapped.

“There are some people trapped under the building rubble. We have deployed our cranes and machinery to rescue them very soon,” he added.

Husain told a private television channel that no suicide attacker was involved.

“It was not a suicide attack. It was a planted bomb blast. The bomb exploded near the gas cylinders that triggered a bigger blast,” he said.

Husain said that the attack could have targeted government buildings close to the gas station site, some of which he said were damaged in the blast.

Taliban claim responsibility

The Pakistani Taliban said they carried out the car bombing, an AP report said.

Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said the target of the blast was an office of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Ahsan said the blast was revenge for the killing of a militant by security forces in Faisalabad last year.

Pakistan has been wracked by violence, mostly targeting security officials.

Some 4,000 people have been killed in bomb blasts, suicide and gun attacks blamed on Taliban and al Qaeda fighters since July 2007.

Opinion

Editorial

Khuzdar atrocity
Updated 22 May, 2025

Khuzdar atrocity

A process of reconciliation is sorely needed in the province, solely militarised response will be insufficient.
Budget and climate
22 May, 2025

Budget and climate

Govt's plan to present a climate-focused budget for the next fiscal year is a welcome paradigm shift in national economic planning.
Justice for Noor
Updated 22 May, 2025

Justice for Noor

Noor's death was the result of not just one person’s malevolence, but a preventable tragedy caused by several individuals failing to do the right thing.
Gaza’s horror
Updated 21 May, 2025

Gaza’s horror

The quickest way to stop the bloodshed would be for the US to immediately halt all military and financial aid to Israel.
Climate planning
21 May, 2025

Climate planning

ALTHOUGH the effects of climate change manifest themselves throughout the year, they seem particularly more...
Failed auction
21 May, 2025

Failed auction

THE poor response to the government’s bid to sell three redundant thermal power plants indicates the investors’...