At least eight people have been Dead while several others sustained severe wounds in a blast at Lahore’s Defence Z block market today (Thursday)
According to details, the explosion occurred at an empty plot targeting Bombay Chowpatty outlet in the market.
Rescue teams and bomb disposal squad have arrived at the scene and shifted the injured to General Hospital while toll is likely to be escalated.
According to Punjab Police the explosion was caused by a timed device which according to bomb disposal personnel contained 8-10 kilograms of explosives.
However, law enforcement agencies and authorities have not confirmed the nature of the explosion. A tweet sent out by the official Twitter account of the Government of Punjab stated that it was a generator blast.
Clarification on Lahore Y block blast: It's a generator blast and rescue team has reached the site. Please spread this.
— Govt Of The Punjab (@GovtOfPunjab) February 23, 2017
However, the nature of the blast is yet to be ascertained.
The security officers have besieged the entire area and launched an investigation into the matter.
Earlier, federal government approved request of Government of Punjab to deploy Pakistan Rangers in the province for 60 days to eliminate budding terror elements.
The government moved a request to the federation after a suicide blast on February 13 outside Punjab Assembly claimed 14 lives including that of Deputy Inspector General of Traffic Police, Capt (r) Syed Mobin Ahmad.
