On 6 July 2013, a time-device bomb blast occurred in the food street of the

Old Anarkali Anarkali Bazaar ( Punjabi, ur, ) is a major bazaar in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Anarkali also serves as a neighbourhood and union council of Data Gunj Buksh Tehsil of Lahore. It is situated in the region that extends from the south of Lahori ...

district, in the eastern city of

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The blast killed five people and injured dozens of others.

Background

Lahore, the second largest city of Pakistan, an important political, economic and cultural center of the country, and capital of the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

province, has been relatively free of violence and terrorism compared to other parts of the country. The food street attack was the first major incident of terrorism in the city in three years. The Anarkali food street area comes under the NA-120 constituency of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, from where Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

, a native of Lahore, contested and emerged victorious in the 2013 general election.

Incident

The blast was triggered by a time-device bomb. The blast occurred on the night of Saturday on 6 July 2013. Two people died on the spot while three succumbed to their injuries at Mayo Hospital on Sunday, bringing the death toll to five. The deaths were confirmed by police and

Rescue 1122 Rescue 1122 ( ur, 1122 ایمرجنسی) is an emergency service that serves Punjab Province (Pakistan), Punjab Province , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KPK Province , Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan Province , Sindh, Sindh Province, Gilgit-Baltistan ...

officials. Mirza Taimoor, a student of GC university Lahore was also injured severely in this incident.

Investigations

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

rounded up over 200 suspects, most of them

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

nationals, during an operation a day after the incident. Two injured brothers, said to hail from the Bajaur Agency in the northwestern tribal areas, were also interrogated. Late on Sunday, police reported that a group called the

Baloch Liberation Tigers Baloch, also spelled Baloch, Beluch and in other ways, may refer to: * Baloch people, an ethnic group of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan * Baluch, a small itinerant community of Afghanistan * Balouch, Azad Kashmir, a town in Pakistan * Baloch (s ...

(BLT) claimed responsibility for the attack. The BLT is said to be a splinter Baloch militant group involved in the

insurgency in Balochistan The Insurgency in Balochistan is an insurgency or revolt by Baloch nationalists against the governments of Pakistan and Iran in the Balochistan region, which covers the Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan, Sistan and Baluchestan Prov ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahore bombing 2013 murders in Pakistan 21st-century mass murder in Pakistan Terrorist incidents in Lahore Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013 Balochistan Liberation Army attacks Improvised explosive device bombings in Pakistan Mass murder in 2013 July 2013 events in Pakistan Marketplace attacks in Asia