The lawyers had originally planned to march on the Lahore GPO Chowk but put off the plan. The lawyers had a meeting in progress in the Lahore High Court Bar Association when the suicide blast ripped through the street.
The suicide bomber blew himself up when police stopped him outside the court. The explosion was so powerful that it was heard in a radius of one-kilometre.
The dead constables were identified as Muhammad Riaz, Asghar Ali, Shafique, Shahid Iqbal, Asghar Ali, Rafique, Ilyas, Muhammad Saleem, Shabir-ur-Rehman and others and Shoaib, an employee of a law firm.
Punjab Police Inspector General Ahmed Nasim, accompanied by senior police officials, rushed to the scene and told reporters that his force had evidence and statements from policemen and the public that it was a suicide blast.
He urged people to help police and other law enforcement agencies in war on terror. He said police were unable to deal with suicide blast attempts alone.
Panic gripped the city after the blast with rumours claiming more bombings in some other areas to scare the people. Soon after the bombing, policemen reached the spot to help their colleagues where dead bodies and some injured were lying on the road. Civil Defence and rescue vans arrived soon and started shifting the injured to hospitals. The bomb damaged two cars, one motorcycle, two rickshaws and one Tanga at the busiest section of the Mall. The bomb badly mangled both cars and a Water and Power Development Authority jeep.
Shoaib, a lawyer's employee, who was rushed to the court's dispensary, could not succumbed to injuries. The police closed all the court gates and stopped everyone from leaving the court premises. The police also cordoned off the area. Emergency was declared in all the hospitals while a large number of people rushed to the Mayo, Services and Ganga Ram Hospitals to donate blood.
Sources said Mayo Hospital received 20 dead bodies. Up to 50 injured were brought to the Mayo, eight at the Services and four at Ganga Ram. SHO Ravi Road Police Station Kasim Dogar and four women Irum, Munirian and Meraj Begum received minor injuries. Punjab Rescue and Emergency Services Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer said seven constables died on the spot while some on way to hospitals. He said Rescue 1122 rushed to the scene and shifted the victims to Mayo Hospital.
Mayo Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Fayyaz Ranjha said surgeons were treating the injured in all the six operation theatres and praised people for donating blood. He said there was sufficient medicines at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ejaz Nisar has announced a compensation of Rs 300,000 each for the dead and Rs 100,000 for the injured and vowed to punish those behind the blast. He said his government was investigating the matter.
Governor Khalid Maqbool expressing grief, said those involved in this heinous crime could never be called humans. He said such terrorists were the country's enemies. He also condoled with the families of the victims and paid tribute to the policemen who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. Shops and banks pulled their shutters on the Mall shortly after the bomb explosion.
Panic gripped the city with rumours of more possible bomb blasts. The other markets adjacent to the Mall such as Hall Road, Anarkali, and Neela Gumbad also closed. There was no traffic on the Mall and ambulances kept plying on the roads, taking the injured to the Mayo, Services and other near-by hospitals.
Punjab Pakistan People's Party President Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his party condemns the incident and loss of lives and blamed the government for failure to protect the public. Qureshi also appealed to people to maintain religious harmony in Moharram and avoid squabbles. Party General Secretary Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, Information Secretary Farzana Raja, her Deputy Secretary Iqbal Sialvi also condemned the incident, accusing the government of victimising their political rivals and warned that law and order was worsening.
Pakistan Ehtasb Party Chief Organiser Doctor Jaffar Hussain and General Secretary Farooq Ali Awan said the pre-Moharram bombing was a conspiracy to create rift among Muslims. Watan Party Chairman Barrister Zaferrullah Khan also condemned the blast.