Pakistan Bomb Kills at Least 23 People Near Planned Lawyer Rally
A suicide bomber near the Lahore High Court in Pakistan has killed at least 23 people, 22 of them police officers, the New York Times reports. Another 58 people were wounded.
The police were stationed at the court for a planned protest rally by lawyers opposing the firing of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. One of the protest organizers, Khurram Latif Khosa, told the Times that the lawyers were saved because they arrived late to the rally. The Times says more than 2,000 lawyers were expected to attend, while the Washington Post puts the expected number at 200.
Some lawyers blamed the attacks on terrorists seeking to destabilize Pakistan, while others suspected the country’s intelligence agencies. Others said the government had information about a planned attack but failed to stop it, the Post story says.
