Islamabad, Jan 15 (IANS) At least 16 people were killed and more than 20 injured in a blast Sunday at a religious gathering of Shia Muslims in Pakistan’s Punjab province but there was no terror link, a media report said.

The blast took place near a shrine in Khanpur city of Rahim Yar Khan district during a procession of Shia mourners to commemorate the end of 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.

Police told Dawn News that the blast may have been caused by a bomb or as a result of an electrical explosion in a transformer.

An official said they were trying to confirm whether a suicide bomber was involved or not.

Abid Qadri, a senior police officer in Rahim Yar Khan, said: “It was not an act of terrorism”.

“A long flag in the procession struck the high transmission power wire and caused the explosion in the transformer,” he said.