After Lahore, 43 more die in Pakistan bombings (Fourth Lead)
By Awais Saleem, IANSFriday, September 3, 2010
ISLAMABAD - At least 43 people were killed in powerful explosions in three different cities in Pakistan Friday, two days after triple blasts ripped through a Shia religious procession in Lahore killing 35 people.
In Quetta, capital of Balochistan provice, at least 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a massive blast targeting a Shia procession. The blast took place near Meezan Chowk in Quetta.
Panic gripped Quetta after the blast as rescue workers shifted the dead and injured to the hospital. The death toll is feared to rise.
Aaj TV driver Muhammad Sarwar was among the dead while several cameramen were injured.
A senior police officer said the processionists were asked to disperse before Meezan chowk but they didn’t relent. Angry Shias fired gunshots in the air after the incident, creating a tense situation.
A van of Dunya TV was also fired at and the windscreen was shattered.
Emergency has been declared in Quetta hospitals. Because of planned Shia processions across the country after Friday prayers, security was on high alert.
Security personnel cordoned off the area as the participants of the procession vent their ire at the authorities.
Earlier in the day, two people were killed and six injured in a blast at a shrine of the minority Ahmadi community in the Canal Road area in Mardan town of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
In Peshawar city, a huge explosion ripped through a police van leaving a policeman dead and three others injured in Achini Bala area, according to Dawn.
The police van was badly damaged in the remote-controlled explosion.
On Wednesday, three serial blasts within half an hour in Lahore killed at least 35 people and wounded over 200.
The first blast occurred near Karbala Gamay Shah in Lahore’s Lower Mall area while the second and third blasts were near Bhatti Chowk, just a few paces away.
The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terror group claimed responsibility for the Lahore blasts. The group was founded in 1996 in Jhang town of Punjab province.
