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Six killed in Pakistan blasts

B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD: At least six persons were killed and scores injured in two powerful explosions that rocked city of Lahore on Thursday morning. According to police a remote controlled device triggered both the explosions. The explosives were mounted on bicycles parked in crowded localities of the city. Till the writing of the report no one has claimed responsibility for the blasts. Though police have no clue so far about the identity of those responsible for the mayhem, they are working on a number of leads. One thesis is that explosions could have been the handiwork of activists of militant outfits against whom the Government cracked down in recent weeks. Pakistan private television channel, Geo reported that the first explosion occurred near Minar-i-Pakistan gate when a cycle parked near a pushcart exploded. Minutes later a second device detonated near a cigarette kiosk in Icchra, Lahore's busiest shopping district, triggering an explosion in a nearby fireworks shop. The impact of the blasts was so powerful that the windowpanes of nearby buildings were shattered. It created panic in the city and the authorities across the country were put on alert. Separately, two people were injured when two bombs exploded in the town of Kalat in the province of Baluchistan.

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