KARACHI: At least 43 people were killed and scores of people wounded on Monday after a powerful blast ripped through Karachi’s main Ashura procession at MA Jinnah Road.

Sindh Health Minister Dr. Saghir Ahmed confirmed Geo that 20 people were martyred in the blast.

The blast triggered stampede and panic among the mourners, who pelted stones at the police vehicles. Some eyewitnesses said they have heard some gunshots on the occasion.

The ambulances soon reached the blast site and shifted the injured to the hospitals, where emergency has already been declared.

Fire broke out after the blast in Karachi, fanning thick smoke into the sky, and people were running in all directions, an AFP reporter said.

Police sources said they are trying to confirm the nature of the blast.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the blast that ripped through the main Ashura procession in Karachi.

In a separate message from London, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain has strongly condemned the bomb blast occurred at the Karachi’s main Ashura procession today.

Hussain appealed to the mourners to maintain calm after the blast

Monday, December 28, 2009