On Sunday night’s deadly suicide bombing in the second largest city targeted Christians in a children’s park
More than 73 people were killed and hundreds of others wounded when a suicide bomber hit a children’s park in Lahore. Scores of people have been injured in the blast.
The explosion occurred on Easter Sunday near rides for children in Gulshan-e-Iqbal park which was crowded with Christians. There were many children among the people hit by the blast.
The responsibility of the attack has been claimed by a faction of the banned Taliban. The spokesman for the group, Ahsanullah Ahsan stated that the Christians were deliberately targeted in the attack.
The chief minister of Punjab province, Mr. Shahbaz Sharif declared three days of mourning and vowed to bring to justice the ones responsible for this attack. Lahore is the capital of Punjab province.
The Park had very little security in the form of occasional policemen and private security guards, however, the government has stated that it was only a general protection measure since there was no specific threat or alert received about an attack in the park. The prime minister of Pakistan immediately held a meeting for assessing the situation in the city.
The spokesman for the Pakistan army also stated that the chief of army staff had also called an emergency meeting of the intelligence agencies in order to carry out operations against the persons responsible for the attack.
Footage of the Easter bombing on TV channels depicted chaos inside the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park. People were seeing rushing with children. Some were tending to the wounded in their laps.
Eyewitnesses of the blast were unable to state the carnage that had befallen an otherwise happy celebration. People living near the park said that the force of the explosion shattered glasses in their homes. It is also obvious that the bomber knew the park will be crowded with Christians due to Easter.
The scenes inside hospitals were more chaotic. Wounded were being treated in the corridors and on the floors. Some of the injured people are believed to me in a serious condition.
Nobel Peace Prize winner from Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai has termed has stated on a social media website:
“Pakistan and the world must unite. Every life is precious and must be respected and protected.”
