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At least eight people were killed and 21 others injured as a blast hit a restaurant in a commercial area of Lahore, capital city of Pakistan's east Punjab province on Thursday, officials said.
Meanwhile, officials in Lahore denied local reports that another blast hit the same area.
Law Minister Punjab, Rana Sanaullah, confirmed that eight bodies and 21 injured people have been shifted to General Hospital of the city where four of them are in critical condition.
Nayab Haider, a spokesman for the Punjab police, said that the blast was triggered by the detonation of explosive materials in Defense area of the city.
Bomb disposal squad said that a timed device was used to carry out the explosion and an estimated eight to 10 kg of explosives were used in the attack.
The explosion occurred in an under-construction building, located right next to Bombay Chowapatty, a restaurant that serves Indian cuisine.
At least four vehicles and 12 motorbikes were destroyed in the explosion. Four nearby building were also damaged in the blast.
Heavy contingent of police, army and people from intelligence agencies reached at the blast site and cordoned it off.
The army vacated all the nearby buildings in the market and kicked off a rescue and search operation.
A few days ago the same market was evacuated and snap checked by law enforcement agencies after receiving a bomb threat by some outlawed organization.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
(APD)
