Suicide Bomber Kills 13 at Protest in Pakistan
13, 2017
LAHORE, Pakistan — At least 13 people were killed, including six police officers, by a suicide bomber on Monday
during a protest by hundreds of pharmacists in downtown Lahore, in eastern Pakistan, officials said.
In Lahore, the political home of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, at least 400 pharmacists had gathered in front of the Punjab Province
assembly building to protest a new provincial regulatory law, causing extensive traffic congestion that lasted for hours.
Local officials said they had urged the protesters to move away from the assembly building
because earlier in the month, the federal government had warned Pakistanis of a possible terrorist attack.
Muhammad Iqbal, a senior police officer who is part of the provincial counterterrorism
department, said police officers were the target of the suicide bombing.
A Pakistani military spokesman called the Indian fire "unprovoked." Also, a justice of the Islamabad High Court on Monday
banned Valentine’s Day celebrations across the country in response to a petition that called them un-Islamic.
A breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility
for the attack and warned the government of more strikes to come.
