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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Feb 17, 2017, 12:25 AM IST
Over 70 people were killed and nearly 150 others injured on Thursday when an Islamic State suicide bomber blew himself up inside the crowded shrine of revered Sufi Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan town, some 200 kms northeast of Karachi, in a string of deadly blasts this week in Pakistan.
The bomber entered the shrine through its Golden gate and blew himself up near the site where the ritual of sufi dance 'Dhamal' was taking place. The attacker first threw a grenade, to cause panic and then blew himself up, police said. Inspector General of Police for Sindh province AD Khawaja confirmed to media that police had counted 70 dead bodies so far.
"So far 70 people have been killed and more than 150 wounded," he said. The deceased included 12 women and four children. Earlier, Sehwan police station SHO Rasool Baksh told reporters that around 100 people, including women and children, have been killed in the suicide bomb attack.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and urged Pakistan to "stand united".He said the attack on the shrine is an attack on the "progressive and inclusive future" of Pakistan. "The Sufi people predate Pakistan's history, and played an important part in the struggle for its formation," he said.
"An attack on them is a direct threat to Jinnah's Pakistan and will be dealt as such," Sharif was quoted as saying in a statement released by his media office in Islamabad. Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa vowed to avenge "every drop of blood" spilled by terrorists in Pakistan.
With Agency inputs
