LAHORE – The festivities of the Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Buksh and the mourning at Hazrat Imam Hussain’s chehlum came to a climactic end when the boy exploded at the check post near Lohari Gate at about half past five on Tuesday.
It was a site of mixed religious and spiritual feelings when the mourners and the Urs participants were collectively passing through the same check points. Right after the bomb blast, people stampeded away from the crime scene. Initially, the rumours were that a transformer had exploded, but the situation soon clarified when people started running inside a girls’ government school to seek shelter.
People also sought refuge in nearby houses, buildings and shops. Locals gathered in small groups on roof tops and junctions on the same road, while people standing in the line to enter the processions had dispersed. The mourners showed rage on the situation, while the happy participants attending the Urs fled back in tears. Shops shutdown with in seconds after the blast and roadside stall owners also fled, leaving everything behind.
Rescue 1122 workers and Red Crescent came into operation immediately. Foolproof security arrangements, including the deployment of thousand of police officials, setting up of 10 security check points and helicopter surveillance, were ensured to secure both the gatherings successful, which ended with this suicide attack.
