At least, 10 persons were killed while eight injured in a bomb blast at Chairing Cross in front of the Punjab Assembly in Lahore on Monday evening.
SSP Traffic Zahid Gondal and DIG Traffic Ahmed Mobin were also martyred in the incident.
The blast occurred when a protest rally was passing near the spot.
An emergency has been declared in all the hospitals of the city.
The injured are being shirted to Mayo hospital and Ganga Ram Hospital.
President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have condemned the Lahore blast and expresses sorrow over the loss of precious human lives.
In their separate messages, both President and Prime Minister said such dastardly acts cannot shake the resolve of the nation.
Affirming the state’s resolve against the menace of terrorism, they said this scourge will be rooted out.
They expressed resolve to bring the perpetrators of these heinous acts to justice.
The Prime Minister directed to provide best medical facilities to the injured and victims of the blast.
Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has strongly condemned the blast incident in Lahore.
In a statement today, he expressed deep grief over the loss of precious lives in the incident.
Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani condemned the blast outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore this evening and said that such cowardly acts of terrorism cannot deter nation’s resolve to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from the country.