At least 45 people were killed and around 70 others wounded in a suicide blast targeting the flag hoisting ceremony in eastern Lahore city of Pakistan along with Pak-India border at Wagah on Sunday, said officials.
The provincial police chief, IG Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera confirmed that at least 45 people were killed and around 70 others wounded in the deadly explosion near parade ground of Wagah border.
He further said that bomb exploded outside a restaurant near a paramilitary soldiers' checkpoint at Wagah border on the outskirts of Lahore city. The initial assessment of the blast is that it may be the result of a suicide attack, he added.
The dead included three paramilitary personnel, women and children, media reported.
The blast occurred at a time when a large number of people were vacating the parade area after watching flag hoisting ceremony along with Indian border at Wagah. Many shops and nearby buildings were reportedly destroyed at the site of the blast.
The security forces immediately cordoned off the site of the blast and injured were shifted to the nearby hospitals.
An emergency was imposed in all government and military hospitals of Lahore. The death toll is feared to rise as many injured people are in critical condition. Wagah is the only road border crossing between the Indian city of Amritsar and the Pakistani city of Lahore.