At least 20 people have been killed and 100 others injured in an explosion at a gas station near an Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) building in Pakistan’s central Punjab province.
A car bomb was detonated setting fire to gas cylinders at the gas station on Tuesday, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Most of the injured in the blast are receiving treatment for burns. The number of dead and wounded is expected to rise.
The blast happened in the Civil-Lines area of Faisalabad city in Punjab province, where many government buildings, including an ISI office and an army recruit center, are located, the report added.
The Press TV correspondent further added that several surrounding buildings have also caught fire.
Pakistani officials say the intelligence service building and offices of Pakistan International Airlines collapsed after the blast.
Earlier on January 4, the influential governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, died after being shot by one of his bodyguards in the capital Islamabad.
According to the Pakistani interior ministry, the high-profile member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and a close ally of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was killed because of his opposition to the controversial blasphemy law.
Pakistan has a history of military takeovers and political unrest since it secured independence from Britain in 1947.
Most of the injured in the blast are receiving treatment for burns. The number of dead and wounded is expected to rise.
The blast happened in the Civil-Lines area of Faisalabad city in Punjab province, where many government buildings, including an ISI office and an army recruit center, are located, the report added.
The Press TV correspondent further added that several surrounding buildings have also caught fire.
Pakistani officials say the intelligence service building and offices of Pakistan International Airlines collapsed after the blast.
Earlier on January 4, the influential governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, died after being shot by one of his bodyguards in the capital Islamabad.
According to the Pakistani interior ministry, the high-profile member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and a close ally of Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was killed because of his opposition to the controversial blasphemy law.
Pakistan has a history of military takeovers and political unrest since it secured independence from Britain in 1947.
Source: Press TV
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