LAHORE // The provincial capital of Punjab was last night bracing itself for further attacks after twin suicide explosions killed 45 people and wounded more than a hundred.
A series of smaller explosions were heard later in the evening including one at around 9pm in Moon marketplace located in Allama Iqbal Town, a busy area of Lahore crammed with residences, shops and offices.
Earlier in the day, 10-year-old Abdullah Farooq was sitting in his classroom at the Lahore Grammar School Landmark Project in Lahore Cantonment, when the building was violently shaken by an explosion. His teacher told him not to panic but 30 seconds later a second, more powerful explosion took place in RA bazaar only a few hundred metres from the school and close to a military compound.
The twin blasts were the second assault on security forces in Pakistan's second largest city in a week, after a period of relative calm.
"It's a sign that the militants were simply lying low," said Lahore-based political analyst Hassan Askari. "They were just waiting for the right time to strike."
Most reports, including statements by the police and army, revealed that two bombers walked up to military vehicles parked outside mosques in the crowded market and detonated their bombs. The explosions took place around the time of Friday prayers when the area was at its busiest.
A shopkeeper, Adnan Khan, who filmed the blasts as they happened, said there was complete mayhem. "It was insane," he said. "There was smoke everywhere and everyone was screaming." His footage, later broadcast by a private television channel, showed people running from the scene. Mr Khan's voice can be heard saying "Oh my God, oh my God."
"The earth under our feet was moving away - it was like an earthquake," said Sobia Ahmed, a student.
"Nine soldiers were among those killed and more than a hundred wounded," said Tariq Saleem Dogar, the Punjab provincial chief police officer. He added that the heads of the two bombers had been recovered along with other evidence which would help police identify who was responsible.
So far no militant group has accepted responsibility but Monday's Lahore attack was claimed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban, apparently as revenge for the military's campaign against the Pakistani Taliban in Waziristan.
The drop in attacks in the first two months of the year was being used by the government as evidence of their ability to clamp down on militants.
"The militants know the government is now determined to hunt them down," said Rasool Baksh Raees, a professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.
Some analysts say the recent escalation may be in retaliation for the killing of a top-leader of the Pakistani Taliban Qari Zafar in a US drone strike in Waziristan.
A statement attributed to the Pakistani Taliban spokesman after the attack on Monday claimed that more than 3,000 suicide bombers would be let loose on the country unless the army made a decision to halt US drone strikes and stop its own operations in Waziristan.
In the past 12 months thousands of people, many of them civilians, have been murdered in suicide bombings across the country.
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
As You Were
Liam Gallagher
(Warner Bros)
The Intruder
Director: Deon Taylor
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good
One star
Racecard
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Barbie
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Greta%20Gerwig%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Margot%20Robbie%2C%20Ryan%20Gosling%2C%20Will%20Ferrell%2C%20America%20Ferrera%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young