Five blasts rock Pakistan's cultural hub

Jan 9, 2009, 17:08 GMT

Islamabad - Five low-intensity bombs on late Friday exploded outside two popular theatres in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, leaving half a dozen people injured and causing damage to nearby buildings, officials said.

'Two blasts occurred inside the courtyard of the Al-Falah theatre and a third near the main gate of the vicinity, while the fourth bomb exploded when the rescue workers reached the site,' said Deputy Inspector General of Investigations Mushtaq Sukhera.

'These were low-intensity blasts and only six people received minor injuries,' he added. 'The blasts were meant not to kill anyone, but to create panic.' The injured were taken to the hospital.

The fifth blast occurred outside another theatre located a few kilometres from the site of the first four explosions.

The nature of the blasts was not clear and Sukhera said a probe was being carried out to determine whether the bombs were planted or hurled by bicyclists.

Lahore, the second-largest city in Pakistan, with more than six million inhabitants, is considered the cultural capital of the country.

Theatres in the city exhibit dramas, with exotic dances by female performers. This might have angered radical Islamists, who have carried out similar warning attacks on theatres and cinemas in the town in the past.