A suicide blast in Lahore killed at least nine people and injured more than 35, targeting policemen standing guard on the eve of the Independence Day. The attack took place at the busy Dubai Chowk in the Allama Iqbal Town area at about 11:34pm, as citizens poured into the streets before midnight to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Pakistan's independence, which falls on Thursday (today). The dead include two policemen and a woman. Jhang arrests: Intelligence sources linked the blast to the "recent arrests from Jhang", referring to the detention of members of banned militant organisations. A similar blast had taken place at the GPO Chowk after arrests were made in Sargodha, Bhakkar, Mianwali and Lahore's Shahdara area, they added.
Witnesses said a young man with a beard blew himself up near a police van that arrived at the Dubai Chowk traffic signal. They said the Shalwar Kamiz-clad suicide bomber was waiting on a footpath outside a nearby mosque. The blast was so severe that windowpanes of nearby buildings were broken.
A policeman at the scene told AFP he saw the burning body of a man, whom he believed to be a suicide bomber, lying next to a charred motorbike, while bloodied policemen were strewn around the site. Police sealed off the area to collect evidence and record witness statements, and sealed off the entry and exit points of the city. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a compensation of Rs 1 million each for the families of the martyred policemen and Rs 300,000 each for those of the civilians, Geo News reported.