AMN /
PHOTO- JASARAT
The death toll in the suicide blast in Lahore’s crowded Gulshan-i-Iqbal park, in Pakistan last evening risen to 72 overnight, police confirmed today. 300 others injured are being treated in different hospitals.
The Pakistan Punjab government declared an emergency in Lahore and announced three days of mourning. Schools and markets were closed in the provincial capital today. The Army and Rangers will conduct operation across Punjab to target militants, their facilitators and their hideouts, military sources said today.
Meanwhile, a Taliban splinter group says it carried out the suicide attack on a park in Lahore. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said it had targeted Christians celebrating Easter, though police have said they are still investigating the claim. A spokesman for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said the group wanted to send a message to Mr Sharif that they have entered Lahor and threatened further attacks.