According to initial details, several people been injured and the death toll is expected to rise with the suspected use of ball bearings in the blast.
Punjab police chief Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera has confirmed that it was a suicide attack.
Speaking to Express News, IG Punjab said, “Our teams have confirmed that it was a suicide blast.”
The IG said that the suicide bomber was stopped at the gate of the parade ground at the border and detonated the bomb right when people gathered near the gate.
“Up to five kilogrammes of explosive material was used in the blast,” Sukhera said.
“The bomb exploded outside a restaurant near a Pakistani paramilitary soldiers’ checkpoint at Wagah border,” he added.
“There were security threats and the Rangers were prepared but when large numbers of people started to leave the ground, the bomber blew himself causing loss of lives.”
The police chief denied that this incident was because of a security lapse as the border is a Rangers area.
The explosion occurred in the parking area of the Wagah border between India and Pakistan, as the flag hoisting ceremony ended.
Initially it was reported that it was a cylinder blast.
“We think it is sabotage,” DIG Operations Haider Ashraf said, while talking to media representatives.
He urged families to give way to injured people and ambulances that are still being brought in.
The Punjab health department has imposed an emergency in all teaching hospitals in Lahore following the blast.
“The injured were initially taken to Ghurki Hospital, which is nearest to the site of the blast,” adding “Patients in critical condition are being shifted to Services Hospital for the treatment,” the health department spokesperson said.
Police and rescue officials have reached the scene and further investigations are underway.
President, PM express grief
President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif have expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in the blast, Rad
