Gaddafi Stadium blast was a suicide bomb attack, says Pak minister

Lahore, May 30: A Pakistani minister on Saturday admitted that the explosion outside the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday during the second one-day international match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe was caused by a suicide bomber. [Akram hopeful about international cricket in Pakistan]

The police, however, insisted that the explosion was accidental. Two persons were killed in the explosion. [Pak beat Zim in 2nd ODI]

Information Minister Pervez Rashid told private broadcaster Geo that the suicide bomber failed to enter the stadium, thanks to the alert security personnel. The blast took place about 1.5 kilometres from the venue and did not affect the match.

Zimbabwe is the first team to visit Pakistan for a cricket series in six years after a terror attack on Sri Lanka's national side in Karachi in March 2009 left isolated Pakistan in the cricket world. Heavy security arrangements were put in place during the short series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe that started on May 22.

Around 4,000 police personnel have been guarding the Gaddafi Stadium that hosted all the five matches of the tour (two T20s and three one-day internationals) while 2,000 more have been posted along the route from the team hotel to the venue.

Lahore police, however, said that the blast was caused by an auto-rickshaw's gas cylinder exploding and not a terror attack. Previously, they said it was a transformer blast.

The news was blacked out in Pakistani media till the match concluded so that panic didn't spread out.

Oneindia News