MULTAN: Ten people were killed and another 59 injured in a suicide blast near one of the city’s busiest crossings, the Vehari Chowk, just a few yards from the Multan General Bus Stand, police and Rescue 1122 sources said on Sunday night. The CCPO Multan has confirmed that it was a suicide blast. Earlier, Multan City Police Officer Azhar Akram, talking to journalists, said the explosion was caused by a collision between a rickshaw and a motorcycle. “It seems that the explosives or bomb was in the motorcycle or rickshaw,” said Akram, adding that police had also recovered ball bearings from the blast site. On the other hand, sources say the explosion occurred when a man was exiting a vehicle. Soon after the incident, the bomb disposal squad was called in to the site of the explosion to find out what had actually happened. Earlier, it was reported that the explosion happened due to a blast in a gas cylinder fitted into the rickshaw which was destroyed. Around seven to eight rickshaws, a car and a bike were also damaged in the explosion which was heard in many parts of the city. The locals shifted the dead and injured to the Nishtar Hospital where six of them were stated to be in critical condition. Four of the victims died on the spot. Two others died while being shifted to hospital and the remaining succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. Nishtar Hospital Medical Superintendent Prof Dr Ashiq Malik said a total of 42 injured were shifted to the facility. Twenty-seven of them were admitted because of serious wounds while 15 had been relieved after first aid. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the blast. According to a PM House statement, he directed the authorities concerned to provide special medical care to the injured and prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls. Punjab Governor Malik Rafiq Rajwana and Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid also condoled with the affected families and directed health officials for providing treatment to injured people on an urgent basis. The provincial government spokesman, Zaeem Ahmed Qadri, in a statement said the entire nation was united against the terrorists. “The war against terrorism is successfully continuing in its final stage. We will not rest till the elimination of the last terrorist,” he said. On the other hand, the Punjab government has announced Rs500,000 as financial assistance for the families of each deceased. The southern parts of Punjab are rife with sectarian militants allied to the Taliban. In the past year, the authorities cracked down hard on the insurgent groups that have plagued the country for a decade.
