Islamabad, Dec 15 (DPA) At least 15 people were killed and more than 30 injured Tuesday when a car bomb exploded near the residence of a minister in Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab, officials said.
The blast in Dera Ghazi Khan town demolished the house of Dost Mohammad Khosa, the provincial minister for local agencies and community development, and damaged half a dozen buildings in an adjacent market.

Hassan Iqbal, the civil administrator of the town, said an initial investigation showed that the blast was caused by a car bomb.

“It is not clear yet whether it was a suicide attack or a remote-controlled bombing,” he said.

The English-language DawnNews channel cited an official at the Rescue 1122 emergency service as saying that 15 bodies and 35 injured people had been moved to the hospitals.

Iqbal said he feared the death toll could be higher as “30 to 40 people were believed to be buried under the rubble”.

Khosa was not at home when the attack occurred, Iqbal said.

The explosion left around a 3-metre deep crater near the main gate of Khosa’s residence, officials said. It was the latest in a wave of terrorist attacks sweeping through the country in recent weeks.

Taliban militants are carrying out the deadly strikes to avenge ongoing government military operations in the lawless tribal region that borders Afghanistan.

Officials said the attacks further strengthened the country’s resolve to fight Islamist insurgency.

“When the terrorists have started to target ordinary citizens, the entire nation has no option but to stand up against these barbarians with courage and unity,” Punjab’s Senior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Tuesday.