Blast in Lahore market

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 20 A powerful bomb exploded in a crowded market in Lahore today. Though there are no reports of any casualties, at least 14 people are reported to have suffered injuries.

Reports said the bomb was wrapped in a shopping bag near a motorbike parking lot. The incident took place at Rang Mahal district in a shopping center in the heart of the city. No one has claimed responsibility for the incident and it is not clear if it is an incident of sectarian violence or an act of terrorism.

Though blasts are a regular feature in Lahore and several other parts of Pakistan, the latest incident should be a matter of concern to the military government. It has come close on the heels of several measures announced by the regime to curb terrorism and sectarian violence.

Last week the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, banned two sectarian extremist outfits and announced a new law with stringent provisions to punish those found guilty of sectarian and other forms of terrorism.

There is serious concern within Pakistan over the rising incidents of sectarian violence. Independent observers are of the view that there has been a spectacular growth of sectarian outfits after the end of the proxy war between the erstwhile Soviet Union and the U.S. The measures of Gen. Musharraf to check the menace were widely welcomed.

However, within three days after the new measures by the military government, three blasts rocked Punjab and Karachi killing three persons and injuring 12 others. A bomb in front of police station in Gujranwala in Punjab on Friday killed a constable and a passerby standing there. An explosion in Karachi the same evening killed a child and injured seven others. According to police, the grenade was hurled from a car. No organisation or individual has claimed responsibility for the incidents.

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Section  : International
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