13 killed, over 80 injured as bomb explodes in Lahore

LAHORE (92 News) – A bomb exploded outside Punjab Assembly in Lahore on Monday. According to rescue sources, at least 13 people have been killed while over 80 people have been reportedly injured in the blast near Charing Cross, Mall Road. The blast occurred as a motorcycle exploded. The Counter Terrorism Department SSP said that it was a suicide bomb blast. A traffic warden among four injured has been shifted to Services Hospital for treatment, 40 are shifted to Ganga Ram Hospital while six others, including a police official, have been shifted to Mayo Hospital. According to hospital sources, several injured are in a critical condition. A protest demonstration was underway over Drug Act Amendment at Mall Road. Panic and stampede followed the explosion. Rescue officials have cordoned off the area while ambulances rushed to the spot and started shifting the injured to the nearby hospitals. The officials of Pakistan Army have also reached the scene. A suspected person has been arrested from the area after the blast. Emergency has been declared in all the public hospitals of the city. Security has been put on high alert in other cities after the explosion. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and other civilian and military leaders condemned the blast.