Initial scene outside a hospital following the attack. ─ DawnNews Doctors described frenzied scenes at hospitals, with staff treating casualties on floors and in corridors, as officials tweeted calls for blood donations.
Javed Ali, a 35-year-old who lives opposite the park, said the force of the blast had shattered his home's windows.
“After ten minutes I went outside. There was human flesh on the walls of our house. People were crying, I could hear ambulances.”
Yousaf Masih, a father who was searching for his family, told AFP: “My kids came here (to the park). I was at home, I saw the news on TV, but my wife and children were here.”
Gen Raheel chairs military huddle after blast
Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif chaired a high-level meeting late Sunday night, which was attended by heads of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI) among other military officials, said Lt Gen Asim Bajwa on Twitter.
The army chief ordered concerned commanders and intelligence officials to immediately start operations to nab perpetrators of the attack, said Bajwa.
Gen Raheel said these “inhumane savages will not be allowed to overrun our life and liberty.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also chaired a meeting at the PM House where he was briefed by his security advisers on the Lahore attack, said a statement released from his office.
Modi calls Nawaz, condemns Lahore attack
Indian premier Narendra Modi telephoned PM Nawaz after the Lahore blast that killed at least 70, and expressed his condolences.
Terming the attack as cowardly for targeting women and children, Modi underlined the need for ‘uncompromising efforts’ to fight terror.
Premier Nawaz Sharif condemned the blast and directed authorities to ensure "special medical care" to the injured.
"My children, brothers and sisters have been targeted in this attack," Nawaz said in a statement.
The Vatican also condemned the attack, calling it "fanatical violence against Christian minorities", and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for Islamabad to protect religious minorities.
Additional reporting by Ali Akbar from Peshawar