‘Pakistan stadium blast caused by suicide bomb’

A PAKISTANI minister has admitted that a suicide bomber was behind an explosion that killed two people outside the stadium during a Pakistan-Zimbabwe cricket match.

Friday’s explosion — which the police still insist was an accidental blast — threatened to torpedo cricket-mad Pakistan’s first series on home soil since an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.

The bombing, which did not affect the match itself, triggered a news blackout in Pakistani media and came despite heavy security in and around Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

“The incident has not affected the tour. Zimbabwe’s tour will continue,” a spokesman for the Pakistan Cricket Board said. “Their players have gone shopping today.”

Zimbabwe yesterday confirmed that it would finish the tour.

“We had heard a blast during the match on Friday. We do not know what it was. We held a team meeting to inform everyone that our hosts are coming . . . to talk to us about this incident,” said Zimbabwe team spokesman Lovemore Banda.

The third and final one-day international between the two sides was due to take place today in Lahore.

Pakistan has so far won all of the matches in the series — two T20 meets and two earlier one-day internationals.

Yesterday, Pakistan’s information minister, Pervez Rashid, said the explosion outside the Gaddafi Stadium was a suicide bomb, despite police claims to the contrary.

“The suicide bomber failed to enter the stadium due to the bravery of our police,” Rashid told private broadcaster Geo.

The attack took place about 1.5km from the venue at “the outer security cordon of the stadium”, he said.

Despite Rashid’s comments, Lahore police insisted yesterday that the incident was an “accidental blast” caused by an auto rickshaw’s gas cylinder exploding.

Security has been beefed up for the series, with about 4 000 policemen guarding the stadium itself.

A further 2 000 police will patrol the route from the Zimbabwe team hotel to the venue.

Zimbabwe’s tour is the first by a test-playing nation to Pakistan since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore that left eight police officers and civilians dead and seven players wounded.

Zimbabwe tour is the first by a test-playing nation to Pakistan since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team