A powerful blast ripped through Lal Shehbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan town of Pakistan's Sindh province on Thursday, killing at least 75 people, including women, and injuring over 100 others.
Taluka Hospital Medical Superintendent Moinuddin Siddiqui confirmed to Dawn that at least 30 bodies were brought to the hospital.
The explosion took place at the spot where the "Dhamaal" Sufi ritual was being performed within the premises of the shrine.
A stampede followed the blast in the premises of the shrine where a large number of devotee, including women and children, were present.
Rescuers shifted the injured to nearby hospitals. At Taluka Hospital alone more than 100 injured were admitted.
Contingents of police reached the shrine that is situated slightly off the Super Highway in Dadu district of Sindh. Hundreds of people gather at the Sufi saint's shrine every Thursday for religious rituals.
Police chief Jamshoro Tariq Wilayat told Dawn that initial reports suggested it was a suicide bombing in the area reserved for women in the shrine.
"It seems to be a suicide bombing according to initial information provided by Sehwan police to me and I am on way to Sehwan," Wilayat said.
Daesh claims responsibility for Pakistani shrine attack
A Daesh suicide bomber targeted worshippers at a famous shrine in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 35 people and wounding over 50 others, officials said.
According to state-run Pakistan Television, authorities transported at least 30 bodies to hospitals following the deadly attack. Provincial health Minister Sikandar Ali Mandhro told reporters that the death toll from the attack rose to 35.
Senior police officer Rashad Hayat said the attacker detonated his suicide jacket when hundreds of worshippers were performing their weekly mystical dance - called Dhamal - at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, named after the famous Sufi saint buried there, in the town of Sehwan in the southern Sindh province.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on their Aamaq news agency, saying a suicide bomber had targeted a "Shia gathering" at the shrine.
Local government official Munawar Ali also confirmed that attack and said their priority was to quickly transport the victims of the suicide attack.
The military says it is dispatching troops to contribute to the relief effort.-AP
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif quickly condemned the bombing
He vowed to fight militants.
"The past few days have been hard, and my heart is with the victims," Sharif said.
"But we can't let these events divide us, or scare us. We must stand united in this struggle for the Pakistani identity, and universal humanity."
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