11 hurt in two blasts at Lahore CD market

Twin low intensity bomb blasts hit a music and CD market in Lahore on Saturday evening, injuring 11 people and creating panic in the area, police said.

The blasts occurred outside two CDs shops in Zatoon Plaza, one of the busiest music and CD markets of the city, located on Hall Road, police told The Express Tribune. Bomb Disposal Squad officials said these were cracker blasts and the objective was to create panic among people.  The injured, including shopkeepers and shoppers, were shifted to the Mayo Hospital.

“We received 11 injured. Five of them have been treated for minor injuries, while the remaining will be discharged till morning,” Medical Superintendent of the Mayo Hospital Dr Zahid Pervaiz told The Express Tribune.

Police cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. However, no arrest was made till the filing of this report.

The president of the Hall Road Traders’ Association said that most traders had informed him that they had received threatening phone calls from unknown militants. And that he had informed the police about the threats. The callers had asked them to stop selling Western movies and “objectionable CDs” describing it as “dirty business”. However, the traders’ leader said that they would not be cowed down by militants.

“There are 10,000 shops on Hall Road and around 50,000 people visit the market every day,” Dr Haider Ashraf, Operation Superintendent Police of Civil Lines Division, told The Express Tribune. He said perpetrators of the blasts wanted to create panic in the city.

He said that they were investigating the matter. He added that they would also launch search operation in madrassas located near Hall Road.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2010.