By Kiran Butt
LAHORE, Pakistan (AA) At least three people were killed and 33 others injured when a bomb detonated in Pakistan’s second-largest city of Lahore on Thursday, police and officials said.
Footage showed that the blast, in old city’s busy Anarkali bazaar, damaged several motorbikes and upturned market stalls.
Speaking to reporters, Lahore Police DIG Operations Abid Khan confirmed the casualties and said initial investigations showed it was a time-controlled device rigged on a motorbike.
The attack was claimed on Twitter by a spokesperson for the so-called Baloch Nationalist Army, a newly formed separatist group based in southwestern Balochistan province.
The Punjab Safe Cities Authority, an autonomous government body, said Punjab Police chief Rao Sardar Ali Khan chaired a high-level meeting and analyzed incident footage. “All resources to be utilized and culprits to be captured immediately,” he was quoted as saying.
While Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the bombing, Usman Buzdar, the provincial chief minister, said those responsible would not be spared.
Pakistan is dealing with a new wave of terror attacks, and just days ago a policeman was killed in a shootout in the capital Islamabad.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella group comprised of several militant outfits, has also claimed responsibility for many recent attacks.
[Photo: Pakistani security officials collect the evidence from the bomb blast site in Lahore on January 20,2022. Photographer: İrfan Ali/AA]
