LAHORE, KOMPAS.com - Sedikitnya 25 orang tewas dan 61 orang terluka setelah sebuah bom meledak di kota Lahore, Pakistan, Minggu (27/3/2016).

Bom itu meledak di sebuah taman yang digunakan umat Kristen setempat untuk merayakan hari raya Paskah.

Ledakan itu terjadi berbarengan dengan bentrokan di Islamabad antara polisi dan pendukung seorang pembunuh gubernur yang telah diseksekusi sebulan lalu.

"Sedikitnya 25 orang dipastikan tewas namun penyebab ledakan itu belum bisa dipastikan," kata Mohammad Usman, pejabat kota Lahore.

Sejak 2004, Pakistan disibukkan degan pemberontakan kelompok radikal, di mana kelompok-kelompok seperti Taliban secara rutin melakukan serangan sebagai bagian dari upaya mereka menggulingkan pemerintah.

Namun, kota Lahore, ibu kota kebudayaan Paksitan yang terletak tak jauh dari perbatasan dengan India, terbilang aman dalam beberapa tahun terakhir.

Secara umum, tingkat serangan kelompok militan menurun drastis sejak angkatan darat Pakistan menggelar serangan besar terhadap basis-basis Al Qaeda maupun Taliban di wilayah barat laut negeri itu pda 2014.

Meski demikian, sesekali kelompok militan masih bisa melakukan serangan balasan yang cukup mematikan.
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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—At least 40 people were killed and dozens injured when a suspected suicide bomber struck a park crowded with children Sunday, in the usually peaceful eastern city of Lahore, local officials said.

Police said the blast was in an area of the park where children were playing on swings, taken by their parents for an outing on a Sunday evening.

“It is like we’re in a state of war,” said senior police officer Haider Ashraf. “This was a soft target, innocent people, women and children were hit.”

Local television footage showed distraught parents running with their injured children into a hospital, while many others were brought by ambulance.

Lahore is the provincial capital of Punjab province, the most highly populated part of the country, which has been largely spared the terrorist attacks that have hit other parts of the country in recent years. It is the hometown of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
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At least 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured when a suicide bomber stuck a children’s park Gulshan-i-Iqbal in Pakistan’s Lahore on Sunday evening.

Adviser to chief minister on health Salman Rafique confirmed the death toll.
DIG Operations Captain (Retd) Muhammad Usman confirmed the suicide attack, saying the head of the suicide bomber has been recovered. Ball bearings have also been recovered from the site.

Iqbal Town Superintendent of Police Dr Muhammad Iqbal said the explosion took place where a large number of families, especially women and children, were gathered.

Iqbal Town is a renowned residential area of Lahore. The blast took place just outside the exit gate and a few feet (meters) away from the children’s swings.
Witnesses said there were pools of blood and body parts scattered all around.

A witness, talking to DawnNews, said he found people dead or injured on the ground.

“We took the injured to hospitals in rickshaws or taxis,” he said adding that the Sunday crowd was “unusually large” because of Easter holiday.

“The roads were also jammed and queues of vehicles could be seen till Moon Market.”
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At least 60 people have died and over 250 injured in a blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, in Iqbal Town area of Lahore. The sound of the blast was heard around 6:30 pm today, with rescue teams being dispatched to the site. These include 23 ambulances and rescue vehicles.

According to media sources the authorities have escorted people out of the park, which is one of the busiest recreational spots in the area. The blast occurred near Gate Number 1 of the park. Eyewitnesses claim it was a suicide attack.

“The park had a lot of rush due to Sunday holiday and Easter,” an eyewitness said.

The nature of the blast is yet to be confirmed. The security personnel have surrounded the area and launched a search operation in and around the park.

DIG Operations says that there was no news that this place will be targeted. “The eyewitnesses have said it is a suicide attack but we have started the investigation of the incident. After detailed evaluation by the concerned agencies we will be able to tell the real nature of the blast,” he said.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has condemned the blast and has ordered officials to ensure that all possible treatment is given to the injured.
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