Islamabad: At least 10 people died and 48 injured when an explosion occurred near a packed rickshaw stand in Multan on Sunday night.
Azhar Akram, Central Police Officer (CPO), said the explosion happened at Vehari Chowk area of Multan, a district located in the country's Punjab province.
He said the police have recovered a suspected body from the blast site which has been sent for DNA test and thumb impression verification.
At least 11 of them are in critical condition, Xinhua news agency quoted the CPO as saying.
There are contradictory reports about the blast as the District Commissioner officer, Zahid Saleem Gondal, said the blast took place when a rickshaw hit into a motorbike coming from opposite direction and it seems that the motorbike rider was moving the explosive materials to somewhere but they accidently went off.
Another police official said the bomb was placed in a bag which was exploded by a remote controlled blast.
The CPO said the bomb disposal unit and police are investigating about the nature of blast from the both perspectives.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Five rickshaws, a car, two motorbikes and two shops were destroyed in the blast.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the blast and directed hospital administration to provide best possible medical facilities to the injured people.
Multan lies in a region dotted with thousands of religious seminaries, with several belonging to local al-Qaida linked militant outfits.
Pakistan has long been fighting militants who want to overthrow the government to install their own harsh brand of Islamic law. Tens of thousands have been killed in more than a decade of fighting.
