2 killed, over 60 injured in Lahore railway station blast
The blast took place on Platform 2 outside the Pak Business Express lounge after 6:30pm. The lounge was severely damaged as a result of the blast.
The bodies and all of the injured were shifted to different hospitals in the city after the blast.
Two of the dead were identified as a police constable and a porter.
CCPO Lahore Aslam Tareen said that there were 16 to 17 CCTV cameras installed at the station and all of them were inactive.
Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour announced compensation of Rs500,000 for families of those killed and Rs100,000 for those who were severely injured as a result of the blast.
He also constituted a commission aimed at the probing the explosion at platform no. 2 of the railway station. Inspector-General of Railways Police of Pakistan Railways, Ibnul Hussain will head the investigation commission.
On the special directives of Railways Police IG, security has been further tightened at Rawalpindi Railway Station after the deadly bomb blast in Lahore.
Talking to APP, Superintendent of Police (SP) Rawalpindi Ahmed Mukhtar here on Tuesday, said that 40 armed commandoes have been deployed at the Rawalpindi Railway station.
He further said that police in plain clothes have also been assigned tasks to maintain high security and keep a watch on suspicious persons. Special teams of Railways police along with Civil Defence, bomb disposal squad have been constituted to monitor everything minutely, he said.
To a question he said Pakistan Railways would install Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at every railways station to ensure foolproof to passengers.
An FIR of the incident has been lodged in Railway police station.
End of live updates
8:35pm
SSP Railways Police has said that security at the station was foolproof and satisfactory.
A CCTV system was also installed at the station.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Gilani have condemned the incident.
8:30pm
Express News reports that Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour has announced compensation of Rs500,000 for families of those killed and Rs100,000 for those who were severely injured as a result of the blast.
The government of Punjab has declared emergency at hospitals in the city.
8:20pm
An eyewitness has claimed that policemen were searching a passenger who had gotten off the train when the blast took place.
8:10pm
Express News correspondent Nadeem Chaudhry reports that all bodies and injured people have been shifted to hospitals.
Ball bearings were also recovered from the blast site. Investigators are collecting evidence from the scene.
Two people had been killed at the railway station and one passed away on the way to the hospital. Two of the deceased were identified as Police Constable Idrees and porter Boota, while the third person has not been identified as yet.
8:00pm
IG Railways Police said that walls had been constructed, barbed wire and security lights had been placed around the station.
He said that there had been no threats or information of a blast.
The IG confirmed that one of the dead was a Railways policeman.
7:50pm
An eyewitness said that he was at the counter when the blast took place. He said there was chaos after the blast and people were seen lying on the platform.
The eyewitness claimed that metal detectors and walk through gates at the station did not function properly.
The station was evacuated after the blast and no passengers were allowed inside.
Police are currently conducting a search operation on all routes that lead into the station.
7:45pm
CCPO Lahore Aslam Tareen says that security has been placed on high alert. He said that the blast was an act of terrorism and added that investigations will be conducted into how the bomb made it inside the station.
Two injured were shifted to Services hospital and six to Ganga Ram hospital.
7:35pm
Express News correspondent Saquib Saleem Butt reports that sources have said a black bag, placed around 7-8 feet away from the waiting lounge, had exploded.
Rescue sources say that 35 injured people were shifted to hospitals.
Train services at the station have been suspended.
7:30pm
Bomb Disposal Squad officials say that up to 5-6kg of explosive material was used in the blast.
Five of the injured are reported to be in critical condition.
The injured are being shifted to Mayo and Ganga Ram hospitals.
BDS officials say that the bomb could have been detonated using a timer or a remote control.
7:20pm
The waiting rooms have been severely damaged as a result of the blast.
The bomb was reported to have been placed inside a black bag and left a 10 foot crater after the blast.
The blast took place outside the waiting room of Pak-Business Train.
The number of injured has risen to 25.
7:15pm
Three people have been killed as a result of the blast. The dead are reported to be two porters and one policeman.
All injured people have been shifted to the hospital by Rescue 1122 teams.
The platform has been cleared.
Awam Express has been cleared to depart from the railway station.
A large number of police personnel have arrived at the station.
Police say there is no confirmation on the nature of the blast.
7:10pm
The number of injured is reported to be 15.
There were reports of a bomb being planted in a nearby area in the morning. Express News reports that bombs had also been found placed within plastic bags at a shop in the area.
The Bomb Disposal Squad has arrived at the station.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the blast and has ordered an immediate inquiry into the incident.
7:05pm
Express News correspondent Amjad Sethi reports that windows around the platform shattered as a result of the blast.
One of the dead is reported to be a policeman.
One of the bodies is reported to have been severely damaged as a result of the blast.
One of the injured was reported to be serious. Two to three children and a couple of women were also injured.
7:00pm
Express News correspondent Amjad Sethi reported that two people had been killed and six were injured.
The blast took place five minutes after the Awam Express train stopped at the platform. The train had arrived from Karachi to head to Rawalpindi.
Rescue 1122 and other teams have arrived at the station.
There is no confirmation on the nature of the blast as yet, but there are reports of a suicide attack.
A slideshow of pictures from the blast site can be seen here.
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BELIEVE it or NOT! I and bro could have named among dead because the area where we were sitting waiting for PAK business express was 2 meters away from the blast site. We left at 330 fortunately and blast occurred at around 630 or 40! Thanks to ALLAH we are safe, but sad for those who were Pakistanis and Muslims among the dead and injured! :(
this is a war between the airlines and the railways and the one who suffers every time are the civilians. it's time we take up arms to defend ourselves from fanatics and freaks of all kinds including the corporate ones.
@Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: I believe a country the size of 180 million population (Pakistan) is not insane to listen to any country and jump on polices, your country choosed this path to keep a check on India, but now the same policy is back firing you, any country who support terrorism is going to get affected by the same terrorists be it India or Pakistan, if we Indian's dream for any negative things to happen for Pakistan then same will happen to us later and vise verse, so it will be in the interest of Pakistan if it's stops harboring terrorists and invest that resource for the betterment of Pakistan...
Pakistan lost 60+ Billion Dollars to this war (against $15-20 Billion aid). - as long us you have an attitude of blaming others for your own wrong doing and giving tall climes won't lead you any where, and with this type of attitude it's very difficult to learn a lesson or change....
Iv been on the Pak Business Express and there are NO security checks anywhere at all. not in the lounges, not in the trains, there wasnt even a luggage check. I could carry a 100KGs of explosives or smuggle drugs and no one would know. Security then too was a big concern for me which unfortunately has been realized.
The faster we get out of this war, the better it would be.
@khan; @hasan: Thank you for a reasoned analysis.
@Tehreek Insaf FATA: Getting out of the war on terror or stopping drone attacks is not going to stop these terror attacks.The bombers are not misguided villagers. They have a specific virulent ideology that wishes to eliminate minorities and other sects, impose their brand of sharia and then use Pakistan as a staging post to spread this ideology to other parts of the world. They will continue to carry out attack in other countries and will then come back to Pakistan for safe haven. If the US is attacking with drones it is because some militant tribes in FATA continue to harbour terrorists that attack Afghanistan. If the response to that is that FATA should be providing safe havens because the war against the Karzai government is a "just" war, then the same argument will be used in the future for "just" wars against India, China, Iran and Russia, all of which have ideological Sunni Islamist movements. If the people of FATA want drone attacks to stop, they should stop their militant tribes from providing sanctuary to terrorists of all nationalities. To do otherwise is suicidal for Pakistan and for the region. For the tribes in FATA to act as though it is the hub of the global jihadi movement and then terrorise, main and kill innocent Pakistanis when it is attacked by outsiders for providing safe haven to jihadists, is really despicable.
@Pakistani: and i am still amazed tht even after so many horrific bomb blasts, pakistan cricket board still wants international team to tour pakistan !!! truly the PCB has no shame !!!
is time to pakistani goverment has to take sweep action all T-groups in the country and out side of the country.i do not understand they r/in side u/r country inside u/r house then why we can not take action,every time some thing happen mr president and there puppiets condemned all the time,no more condemned is time to take the action,give army full charge to take those pigs out and shot them right there.if raw or indians r/in there then let them know.
@ALI: It's funny how someone "trying" to look like a Pakistani extremist would misspell so many common words in a row while still being able to use such concrete English words. Nice try!
Maybe ET should retrieve every poster's region from their browser info and display it; it would surely help cut down spammers =)
"The eyewitness claimed that metal detectors and walk through gates at the station did not function properly."
Ive been through these 'scanners and metal detectors' with backpacks & trolley bags a hundred times in the past few years and never was I questioned about the content of the bags even though the scanners beeped every time I walked through them.
It was "good will gesture" from INDIA to show the world that still Pakistan is not safe for international events and Bangladesh did the right thing.
Guys isnt like that
there agents are traying are playing a unseen war in pakistan
this word made human hate human at very basic level
How can someone even SLEEP after seeing all this bloodshed caused by one's own action....a normal human being cannot even see one's pet suffer and these people are sleeping easily after killing all these innocent civilians...what was the fault of the porter who died,what was the fault of the woman being shown in the above video...these are common people who have kids to feed,the porter who died probably works his hat off all day just to provide 3 meals to his kids....its a pity that Jinnah saab and Iqbal ka Pakistan is suffering like this....
Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: Pleas clearify your position i think you wanted to say that becos of amaricas war on terrior wich is fake as we all know ROW & CIA in colaburation is trying to destabeliz PAKISTAN the only nuclear muslim state in the world my friend you are right by making an excuse of afghan war the indian and Zayonest there agents are traying are playing a unseen war in pakistan and every pakistani on this foruam should know that here on ET there are so many INDIAN trolls including ISRAELIS to . any whay my condolences to the familes of the marterd and injurd inalilahe wa inaelaheragion.
@Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: You call them "Millitants"?? Aren't these people terrorists?? Forget about “War of Terror", try safeguarding your own borders and look at Waziristan, Baluchistan, Swat, Karachi. Who is responsible for the internal security?
"SSP Railways Police has said that security at the station was foolproof.." Technically he is absolutely right. Fool-proof ( like water-proof ) means that fools cannot get iun. The blast was caused by 'terrorists' and not 'fools'. The station was not 'terrorist-proof'.
It is sad to know that a terrorist attack has killed two people and injured many. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of the people killed in this blast. We also pray for quick recovery of the people injured. Terrorists work on intimidation and want to inflict the most damage. That is the reason they target heavy traffic in public places like a railway station. This war on terror is not only an “American” war. Terrorists have targeted innocent people of many nationalities, including Pakistanis and Afghans. Is it not wrong to blame the Americans for this war when they have been victims in the hands of terrorists just like the Pakistanis? Have you not seen an increase in terror activities since the slowdown in our relationship? It is time to regroup and snuff out the little breathing space these terrorists have gained for themselves so that blasts like these are stopped and peace is restored.
Maj David Nevers DET-United States Central Command www.centcom.mil/ur
@s shah: @Pollack: @Pakistani Hindu: @Hasan: Did I say anything about JUSTIFICATION? I didn't justify it; no brutality can be justified by any amount of words. But like it or not, thats today's reality. They (militants) are using our mercenary role in this American "War of Terror" as an excuse for such attacks. They are wrong but why give them the PROPAGANDA TOOL? What is Pakistan's benefit in this war? Your own Govt says Pakistan lost 60+ Billion Dollars to this war (against $15-20 Billion aid). So why stick to this foreign Project and get our innocent citizens & security-men killed?
"CCPO Lahore Aslam Tareen said that there were 16 to 17 CCTV cameras installed at the station and all of them were inactive".
"The eyewitness claimed that metal detectors and walk through gates at the station did not function properly."
Kudos to our security establishment. They have once again shown how dear the security of the common man is to them. Can we really blame the BCB for not sending its team to Pakistan. Most importantly are we going to let this slide under the carpet once again or we going to demand answers for this incompetence.
@HRK There is no middle way against killers. The law of God is clear. A life for a life. A government has no other duty except to enforce the laws and there can be no compromise on this.
@Hasan: I understand your anger but saying these people have no reason to attack us, readily believing that the callers on telephone who claim to be speaking on behalf of an organisation and take the responsibility for the atrocity is not a fake is like denying and ignoring clear facts. People who have lost everything and every member of their families in Afghanistan and Pakistan see us as their enemies for obvious reasons and there is more to what is happening in Pakistan than meets the eye.
A major blow to the Pakistani government and law enforcement agencies.
The report says that there were 16-17 CCTV cameras installed on the railway station and ALL of them were inactive.......while......according to the SSP Railways Police.... the security in the railway station was foolproof......hats off to SSP Railways!!
@ All those defending Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA;s stance:
I'm from Peshawar and every one knows that FATA has never been a place where one would go casually .. It always been used by criminals and murderers as a refuge area, who were on the run from the Law. Instead of blaming others we must look at ourselves and do some introspection .. Was it not our own people giving refuge to whoever was fighting in the neighboring countries? Was it not our own people from FATA, who never recognized an international border in the Af Pak region. Our alliance with US etc was reaction to those action of some people who would kill and hide in NWA/SWA and rest of the areas. If we really want to cleanse this mess we must guard that border as much as possible and stop every one from crossing it back & forth illegally .. remove all those figure who are challenging writ of the state along with their sympathizers in the cities. Send back all refugees to stop flow of thousands of people going back and forth every day. Invest in education in the area in long run and develop it as a settled area.
@Hasan: very good point. well said atleast there are educated people like u . pakstan has a future may b
This is totally senseless. There is no justification for this.
@Rehman Awan: I understand your point and agree that such attitude by them could lead to rebels like the Lal Masjid incident and that they could start the blackmailing tactics for future. However, when we know that our govt/police/security agencies are simply not strong enough to suppress them and it's the common people who are suffering as a result, we need to find some mid-way approach to at least put a temporary halt to these. That peaceful time span could be used to revitalize our economic strength and rejuvenate our security architecture and as a result cracking down on those insurgents would be easier in future.
Hope it makes sense...
@Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: "Wish we see the day when we are out of this American “War of Terror” whose only victims are innocent Pakistani & Afghan citizens."
Sure. Poor people in railway stations will have to be killed for America to end their war on terror. Sure. Very logical. Very rational. I wonder why people did not figure that out but you did?
@ Tehreek Insaf FATA and all other apologists for the terrorists: Why are you defending terrorists ? Killing a poor policeman and a poor porter is somehow supposed to be ok ? How twisted and selective can your morality be ? Disgusted.
very sad news for the families of the victim............may Allah give toleration to them on this sad movement.
@HRK: Again you are providing another rationale to defend what Tehreek Insaaf Fata Chapter have to say. Sir dont be a stupid. How can you defend the killing of your own people as a revenge of wrong doings of others!!. Imran Khan was the same person who went against Swat operation and he criticized PMLN , PPP and ANP to support the operation and now in Swat everything is fine. Now again you are defending the perpetrators rather than going against these types of acts???? What type of revenge is this when you have to kill your own people to prove your point???. It is like a black mailing that i am going to kill my people to meet my demands??. It is like a bank Heist where some robbers will have some hostages and they will kill some and then tell the authorities to meet their demands otherwise they will kill all. Tell me can we defend the blackmailing of these individuals. Tomorrow when they will say that Bring Shariah otherwise we will kill thousands then will you cede to their demands or will tell them to shut up.? Blackmailers weather they are foreign Countries or our own people must not be defended and we must have firm stance against all of them
This is definitely a conspiracy. First blow up the airplanes so people coming and going to Islamabad are forced to take the train. Then blow up the train that takes them there. We are under attack!! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK !!!!!
@Pakistani Hindu:
This is not nonsense.. we have been in something stupid for way too long.. Look at where our arrogance have taken us today..What are we going to achieve with it? Absolutely nothing... We could've built whole new FATA from scratch multiple times with the amount (claimed to be $60 billions) we wasted in this war to change the ideology of some...
Stop it please... sit and talk if we have issues...
@ All those criticizing Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA:
I think the point he's/they're trying to make is that these blasts most commonly come as a backlash of some step our govt takes to support the WOT. I doubt if he's blaming it directly on US. Frankly speaking, while the NATO supply was blocked, we witnessed a quiet span w.r.t. terrorism.
We as Pakistanis have grown so sick of these blasts that we'd give anything a shot to stop these. Since our govt can't stop this support and doesn't have two cents worth of respect to demand/receive apologies for the genuine blunders committed by NATO troops, we just can't wait for US to pull out its troops and end this WOT because Pakistan is paying an extremely high price for it.
It is high time we stop blaming the rest of the world for our home grown problems. If we are united and sincere then no outside power can harm us. But we are a nation of liars, crooks, hypocrites, and terrorists.
Agree with Tehreek e Insaf Fata...No one is blaming U.S for these attacks.Read his statement carefully before giving random comments...These attacks will continue till we support so called War on Terror because ultimately we will b on their target list...We have seen in the past & we are observing it now Pakistani Innocent people are losing their lives as a result...Need to get out of it for the peace in our homeland.!!
Guys.. Stop all such non sense... please pray for the ones.. who have lost their lives.. in the flames of bloody terrorism... nd for the survival of the casualities...Pay condolence and pray... to blame each other is not an issue..
@Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: Oh God.. You please stop this nonsense of blaming others.
Are not there security cameras in major stations like Lahore. When the situation is like this, we invite foreign cricket teams to play here. Lahore is a place where rose petal blackies are abundantly available.
@Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: This isn't the Americans killing us. This is us killing our own people. What connection do they poor people at the train station have to the US that they are being killed as retaliation in the War on Terror.
I am sad for all those who died and were injured. I wonder what this does to the psyche of people who want to travel from one city to another. Just yesterday I read an article that people had moved from air to train due to the Bhoja tragedy and subsequent near misses by Shaheen. Now train is also risky. The roads are anyway risky - at least for Shias.
It's very sad and regrettable. As pointed out by Hasan, I'm unable to comprehend that how come people instead of condemning the terrorists start defending these inhumane people.
Perhaps it seems that all our transport networks are being delibrately targetted.
Again the bomb blast scene SOPs are missing. Please someone tell these people and our media Personal not to rush the scene as Vital Evidence is there and our media personals and ordinary people will rush to the scene and vital evidence for investigation would be lost again Also after the blast please avoid going to places as usually terrorists blast a second bomb blast afterwards to have more causalities. It is my Request to Breaking news channel reporting that please help the police to secure the place and dont rush there and tell other people as well who are watching your channel to avoid going to that place.
At a time when people had no choice but to take the train (given condition of aeroplsnes)....
:(
@Salman: Brother your comment is like we are savage people and we will kill our own people unless our demands are not met and if some other country will not be good to us then as a Revenge we will kill our Own people to tell other countries that we would be savage to our own people unless our demands are not met. The rationale you are talking about these bomb blasts is out of my comprehension It is just like you are not blaming the bombers but you are blaming other countries for your own misdeeds to your own people?
Very sad incident after the Bhoja tragedy. Our condolences are with the families of the victims, and we pray for their after life.
Its horrible to heard blast again few moments ago im on job nearby, now medical persons n police around. Pray for safety of injured....Pray for ALL.......
@ Hasan - its only the poor who are killed by terrorists. They're soft targets.
@Tehreek-e-Insaf FATA: Sorry to say but can you explain how come some terrorist outfit can defend themselves that they have killed innocent poor people because of American War on Terror?. No rationale could be provided to defend these terror acts my friend. Blaming others and then killing your own people is not comprehensible.
Sad
Please come out of this war....
And do not open nato supplies.... it will fuel more anger....
Some Proud Terrorist group will claim this responsibility that they have killed innocent unarmed poor people at the railways and did a tremendous and a great thing. The blast site and platform 2 is the place of Awami Express which is mostly used by Poor of Pakistan and they are not even spared with these terror acts.
Very sad!
Sincere condolences with the families of those who lost their lives & prayers for speedy recovery of the injured. Wish we see the day when we are out of this American "War of Terror" whose only victims are innocent Pakistani & Afghan citizens.
Oh God!not another blast :(