Lahore shut to grieve mourners killing; toll rises to 37

Punjabs provincial capital observed a complete shutter down on Thursday to mourn the deaths of those killed in the triple blasts that ripped through Youm-e-Ali procession near Karbala Gamay Shah. The death toll has risen to 37. A holiday has been announced in Lahore while courts are also closed, DCO Lahore Sajjad Bhutta said. An FIR has also been filed against some unidentified culprits. On Wednesday, three suicide bombers targeted a Shia mourning procession near Karbala Gamay Shah, made up of thousands of people on Wednesday at the moment of the breaking of the fast in the holy month of Ramazan. The blasts, two of which the police confirmed were suicide attacks, took place in a span of 20 minutes despite what appeared to be tight police security. Witnesses said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security barrier at Karbala Gamay Shah chowk at around 7pm when a large number of people were there after the culmination of the main procession. People started raising slogans against police after the second blast. As soon as the third blast took place, they divided into groups, pelted police with stones and set government and private vehicles on fire. A large number of policemen, who were also divided into groups to counter the protesters, first acted in a defensive manner. But after the mob let off a volley of stones on the Lower Mall police station and set some motorcycles and vehicles on fire, they hit back. Riot police fired in the air to disperse the mob. The protesters damaged both gates and lights of the city division police building. Police managed to disperse the mob at about 8.30pm. The protesters criticized police for failing to maintain security and chanted slogans against the PML-N leadership and the Punjab police.