Pakistani rescuers carry a body in an ambulance from a bomb blast site in Lahore on March 27, 2016 (AFP Photo/Arif Ali)
Mar 27, 2016
This post may be updated.
At least 64 people are dead and more than 200 are wounded after an apparent suicide bomber detonated outside a children's park in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday evening.
Area police superintendent Mustansar Feroz told Reuters that "most of the dead and injured are women and children."
One eye witness said that the crowd at the park was "unusually large" because of the Easter holiday.
"It was a soft target. Innocent women and children and visitors from other cities have been targeted," said Haider Ashraf, a senior police official in Lahore.
Officials told reporters they found evidence of a suicide attack including ball bearings and the head of the alleged attacker.
The Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park is one of the largest in the Punjab capital. Punjab is the largest and wealthiest province in Pakistan and is described as the "political heartland" of prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
All government hospitals within Lahore have declared an emergency. The Punjab government has already called for three days of mourning.
More information and details are being shared online under the hashtag #LahoreBlast.
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
This post may be updated.
At least 64 people are dead and more than 200 are wounded after an apparent suicide bomber detonated outside a children's park in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday evening.
Area police superintendent Mustansar Feroz told Reuters that "most of the dead and injured are women and children."
One eye witness said that the crowd at the park was "unusually large" because of the Easter holiday.
"It was a soft target. Innocent women and children and visitors from other cities have been targeted," said Haider Ashraf, a senior police official in Lahore.
Officials told reporters they found evidence of a suicide attack including ball bearings and the head of the alleged attacker.
The Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park is one of the largest in the Punjab capital. Punjab is the largest and wealthiest province in Pakistan and is described as the "political heartland" of prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
All government hospitals within Lahore have declared an emergency. The Punjab government has already called for three days of mourning.
More information and details are being shared online under the hashtag #LahoreBlast.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
This post may be updated.
At least 64 people are dead and more than 200 are wounded after an apparent suicide bomber detonated outside a children's park in Lahore, Pakistan on Sunday evening.
Area police superintendent Mustansar Feroz told Reuters that "most of the dead and injured are women and children."
One eye witness said that the crowd at the park was "unusually large" because of the Easter holiday.
"It was a soft target. Innocent women and children and visitors from other cities have been targeted," said Haider Ashraf, a senior police official in Lahore.
Officials told reporters they found evidence of a suicide attack including ball bearings and the head of the alleged attacker.
The Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park is one of the largest in the Punjab capital. Punjab is the largest and wealthiest province in Pakistan and is described as the "political heartland" of prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
All government hospitals within Lahore have declared an emergency. The Punjab government has already called for three days of mourning.
More information and details are being shared online under the hashtag #LahoreBlast.
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