Tension is high after bomb attacks kill over 40 in Lahore

Most of Lahore's public places and markets remained closed on Friday and security was tightened around mosques and shrines. However, pilgrims continued to visit the shrine of Persian Sufi saint Syed Ali Hajwairi, which suicide bombers had targeted on Thursday.

The head of the civil administration in Punjab, Khusro Parvez said that investigators had found the heads of the attackers and ball bearings from their suicide vests.

The bombers were reportedly dressed to merge with the crowd in the shrine and wore suicide vests with bombs weighing up to 20 kilos.

Protests against Punjabi officials

After Friday prayers, some 2,000 people took to the streets to protest against the chief minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif and ridiculed him.

They criticized the insufficient security measures and some protesters threw stones at the police.

They said the government had failed to protect them against terrorism and demanded a harsher crackdown on militants. Some of the protesters were masked and carrying AK47 rifles, witnesses reported.

Condemnation of the attacks from all sides

The Prime minister of Pakistan, Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned the attacks and called for more stringent law enforcement. He said that the government was committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism at all costs.

The office of the EU foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, said in a statement, meanwhile, that the Lahore attack showed the scale of the terrorist threat and extremism in Pakistan.

The new British foreign secretary, William Hague, also expressed his condolences to the government of Pakistan. Hague condemned the attack, saying it was a vicious and inhuman act and added that Britain would continue to remain a firm friend to Pakistan.

In May, two suicide bombers targeted prayer halls in Lahore, killing 82 people.

mg /AFP/Reuters/dpa