Police cordoned off an area where crowds of people still remain, pictured metres away from a fairground

The Pakistani government is launching a paramilitary crackdown on Islamist militants in Punjab, the country's richest and most populous province, after the Easter Day bomb attack in the provincial capital Lahore as hundreds of demonstrators marched on the streets calling for Sharia law.
More than 70 people, including 29 children, have been killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who targeted Christians near a children's playground in a park in Pakistan. The deadly attack was later claimed by the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction, which once declared loyalty to ISIS.

Some 300 people were injured when explosives packed with ball bearings ripped through crowds near the children's swings in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, in Lahore, where many had gathered to celebrate Easter.
In Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, Islamic extremists protested for a second day outside Parliament and other key buildings, demanding that authorities impose Sharia law.

The army deployed paramilitary Rangers as well as about 800 additional soldiers from neighboring Rawalpindi to Islamabad, to protect the center, which houses main government buildings and diplomatic missions.
The leader of the protesters, Sarwat Ejaz Qadri told a local TV channel they would stay1 outside Parliament 'until our demands are met.' Hundreds were hunkered down for a long stay, chanting prayers, occasionally raising anti-government slogans and brandishing long sticks.





More than 70 people, including 29 children, have been killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who targeted Christians near a children's playground in a park in Pakistan . The deadly attack was later claimed by the Pakistani Taliban's Jamaat-ur-Ahrar faction, which once declared loyalty to ISIS

One lady is comforted as she breaks down in tears after the suicide bomb attack in Lahore, Pakistan
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Dozens of people have been left injured after a suicide bomber targeted a public park in Lahore
The brutality of the attack, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar's fifth bombing since December, reflects the movement's attempts to raise its profile among Pakistan's increasingly fractured Islamist militants.

Senior police official Haider Ashraf confirmed that the death toll had risen to 72 on this morning, adding the majority of the dead were Muslims.
The blast happened a few metres away from children's swings, and most of the victims are believed to be women and children. Witnesses described children screaming as people carried the injured in their arms, while frantic relatives searched for loved ones.

The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, has announced three days mourning and pledged to ensure that those involved in the attack are brought to trial.
Nasreen Bibi, the mother of a two-year-old injured in the attack, spoke through tears as she waited for news from the doctors.

'We were just here to have a nice evening and enjoy the weather. May God shower his wrath upon these attackers. What kind of people target little children in a park?'

It was Pakistan's deadliest attack since the December 2014 massacre of 134 school children at a military-run academy in the city of Peshawar that prompted a government crackdown on Islamist militancy.

The chief minister of Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, has announced three days mourning and pledged to ensure that those involved in the attack are brought to trial


It was Pakistan's deadliest attack since the December 2014 massacre of 134 school children at a military-run academy in the city of Peshawar that prompted a government crackdown on Islamist militancy
Security and government officials told Reuters that the decision had been made to launch a full-scale paramilitary Rangers operation,
The paramilitary crackdowns give Pakistani forces powers to conduct raids and interrogate suspects in the same way as they have been in the southern city of Karachi for more than two years
'Our resolve as a nation and as a government is getting stronger and (the) coward enemy is trying for soft targets,' Sharif said, according to a statement from his office

Police arrest supporters of Mumtaz Qadri, a police guard who was executed last month for killing former Governor of Punjab province
Security and government officials told Reuters that the decision had been made to launch a full-scale paramilitary Rangers operation, giving them powers to conduct raids and interrogate suspects in the same way as they have been in the southern city of Karachi for more than two years.
The move, which has not yet been formally announced, represents the civilian government once again granting special powers to the military in order to fight Islamist militants.
'The technicalities are yet to be worked out. There are some legal issues also with bringing in Rangers, but the military and government are on the same page,' said one senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to share details of the plan.
One other military official and two government officials confirmed the decision on condition of anonymity.

Military spokesman Gen. Asim Bajwa said intelligence agencies, the army and Rangers had already launched several raids around Punjab following the attack, arresting an unspecified number of suspects and recovering arms caches.
Prime Minister Sharif toured hospitals full of victims, promising to bring justice.
'Our resolve as a nation and as a government is getting stronger and (the) coward enemy is trying for soft targets,' Sharif said, according to a statement from his office.
An injured Pakistani child victim of a suicide blast rests in a hospital in Lahore after a suicide bomber attacked a park thronging with families celebrating Easter killed at least 72 people

Rescuers seen helping the injured people at the explosion site, where at least 29 children lost their lives



A girl who was injured in the suicide bomb blast is rushed to a hospital in Lahore in the wake of the bombing


Injured children recover in hospital as the death toll rose to 72 on Monday morning


Bodies were lined up by the side of a fairground ride after the tragic bombing in which 70 people have been killed, and the death toll is expected to rise further
Pakistani emergency workers and police officers gather at the blast site, where 300 people were injured

The blast occurred in the parking area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, a few metres away from children's swings, and most of those hurt and killed are thought to be women and children




ball bearings were found at the blast site, where armed police are still standing guard late into the evening
Men mourn the death of their relatives after a blast outside a public park in Lahore that was attacked


Scenes of distress were seen on the streets as local people came to terms with the anguish of the attack



People in the area rushed to help more than 300 people who were injured in the blast and they are now filling up hospitals nearby

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but the country is plagued with Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs




The group responsible for the attack was founded by Omar Khalid Korasani, a former Taliban senior leader who broke off from the main group to form the more-hardline organization in 2014.
He re-aligned with the main Pakistani Taliban leadership last year, and the group are currently waging war on the government, which in 2014 vowed to grant no safe haven to terrorists.
The attack happened in the heart of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif political base in Punjab.

In a statement, the group said: 'We claim responsibility for the attack on Christians as they were celebrating Easter.
'We want to send this message to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that we have entered Lahore. He can do what he wants but he won't be able to stop us. Our suicide bombers will continue these attacks.'
The group was previously responsible for a March 2015 bombing at a Roman Catholic church in Lahore that killed 15 people and injured 70 others.


Today, eyewitnesses said they saw body parts strewn across the parking lot once the dust had settled after the blast.
The army had been called in and soldiers were at the scene helping with rescue operations and security.
Police chief Haider Ashraf said. 'We are in a warlike situation and there is always a general threat but no specific threat alert was received for this place.'
Salman Rafiq, a health adviser to the Punjab government, called on people to donate blood, saying that many of those wounded were in a critical condition.

Police cordoned off an area where crowds of people still remain, pictured metres away from a fairground ride in the park

Pakistani rescuers use a stretcher to lift a body from a bomb blast site in Lahore which targeted Christians