Karachi park explosion ‘kills 40’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4900402.stm
At least 40 people have been killed in a bomb blast at a huge gathering to mark the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.
Dozens more were injured when the bomb went off under the wooden stage where senior religious leaders were sitting.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion happened as tens of thousands of people were taking part in evening prayers.
Chaos broke out crowds of people rushed to leave Nishtar Park where the event was being held.
“It is a very unfortunate incident,” Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told the Associated Press news agency.
“I can confirm that 40 people have died in the bomb blast.”
No-one has claimed responsibility for the explosion at what was believed to be the biggest of such events being held in Pakistan. Karachi has a history of sectarian and ethnic violence, but this is the first time in decades that a religious gathering being held in connection with Prophet Muhammad’s birth anniversary has been targeted, the BBC’s Zaffar Abbas in Pakistan says.