Blasts in crowded Pak market leave 34 dead,100 injured

Two bombs ripped through a crowded market in Lahore on Monday,killing at least 34 people,authorities said.

Two bombs ripped through a crowded market in Lahore on Monday,killing at least 34 people,authorities said. TV footage showed cars and shops on fire in the Moon Market area of the city after the blasts. Earlier in the day a suicide bomber blew himself in Peshawar killing 10.

Lahore police officer Chaudry Shafiq confirmed 34 people were killed. Another officer said around 100 people wounded. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the bombs were apparently remote-controlled devices.

The bombings followed an attack by a suicide bomber who blew himself up outside a crowded court complex in Peshawar on Monday,killing 10 people and injuring nearly 50.

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The bomber,who came to the court complex on a rickshaw,tried to flee when he was challenged by police,said North West Frontier Province Senior Minister Bashir Bilour. He blew himself up when police fired at him,the minister added. The injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. Doctors said six of them were in a serious condition.

Several policemen,lawyers and passers-by were among the injured. Bilour said there would have been more casualties if the bomber had managed to enter the sessions court complex on Jail Road.

To a question about claims that India and the US were behind such attacks,he said,no Americans or RAW agents are carrying out these blasts.

The blast sparked a fire that destroyed the vehicle used by the bomber. An official of the bomb disposal squad said investigators had found body parts of the bomber and parts of the suicide jacket. Militants have carried out scores of bombings in Pakistan as the Army presses an offensive in Waziristan in the northwest close to the Afghan border.

Amnesty case: SC begins hearing

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistans Supreme Court began hearing petitions on Monday against an expired amnesty that had protected President Asif Ali Zardari and key allies from graft charges,a case that could lead to legal challenges to the US-backed leaders rule.

The 17-member bench in Islamabad started hearing petitions claiming that the amnesty list of more than 8,000 people was illegal. Civil rights activists argue that it was unjust to help so many politicians escape prosecution for alleged wrongdoing.

Meanwhile,the government said it would not defend the immunity,in what could be a setback to the President. The governments stand was conveyed by acting Attorney General Shah Khawar to the apex court. AP/PTI