A suicide bomb blast in Lahore’s crowded Gulshan-i-Iqbal park on 27 March claimed the lives of 72 people and left 300 others injured. Punjab government declared a state of emergency in Lahore—schools and markets remained closed on Monday.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Pakistani Taliban faction claimed responsibility for the attack.
According to an FIR lodged by the Counter Terrorism Department, Lahore, 4 suspects were stopped at the park gate. One of them entered the park and blew himself up, while the others managed to flee taking advantage of the chaos.
The park was unusually populated as many Christian families had gathered at the location to celebrate Easter. According to police investigations, at least 15 to 20 kg explosive material was used in the attack.
The suicide bomber was reportedly identified as Yousuf, a young man from Muzaffargarh, based on an identity card recovered from the site. Military spokesman General Asim Bajwa said intelligence agencies, the army and paramilitary rangers launched several raids around Punjab following the attack.
Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif cancelled his visit to Britain in the light of the unfortunate incident.
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