DERA GHAZI KHAN: At least 27 people were killed and many more wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the crowded Khosa market in Dera Ghazi Khan on Tuesday.

The house of Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, senior adviser to Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was also destroyed in the blast. However, luckily, no member of the family was present in the house at the time of blast.

Southern Punjab was once again target of the terrorists’ nefarious designs.

DG Khan commissioner Hasan Iqbal told Geo News the blast took place at the Khosa Market, which is the commercial center of the city. The explosion was so huge that it completely devastated at least 10 shops. While 10 to 12 more shops were slightly damaged.

Following the incident, rescue teams were rushed to the area where relief efforts are under way. The injured were shifted to the government hospital while some were taken to private hospitals also.

Emergency was declared in the civil hospital. However, people are facing multiple problems due to lack of medicines and shortage of paramedical staff.

The commissioner expressed the fear that 20 to 25 people are still buried under the rubble. He further said it was possibly a car blast.

On the other hand, some of the injured have been shifted to Nishtar Hospital in Multan. These include Sahiba Khalid, 12, seven-year-old Haseeb Khalid, Sadaf, 10; 12-year-old Muhammad Irfan, 25-year-old Muhammad Nadir, Zoha Maryam, 11 and Moosa, 60.

According to the hospital’s administration, these injured are in critical state.