(AKI) - A suicide bomber has killed at least 20 people and injured more than 50 others in the Pakistani city of Lahore. Police said the bomber targeted a group of police officers outside the High Court before a protest rally by local lawyers opposed to President Pervez Musharraf. Television footage at the scene showed wounded policemen and civilians lying on the street, while others were taken to local hospitals by ambulance. City police chief Malik Mohammad told local Pakistani network, Geo TV, that most of the victims were police. Early reports said the bomber was riding a motorcycle and blew himself when police asked him to stop, but other sources said the bomb was placed in the area. Media reports said Lahore hospitals had declared a public emergency and appealed for urgent blood donations. There were fears that the death toll would rise.
The attack is the latest example of the current political upheaval in Pakistan following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27. Police have not yet established who was responsible for the attack but there was speculation that the Taliban from the tribal areas of Waziristan could be behind the bombing.