Blasts, shootings claim 54 lives across Pakistan

‘Separate bomb blasts and shootings in the west, east and south of Pakistan have killed a total of 54 people as militants step up attacks on police and security forces in an apparent response to government offensives to push them out from key bastions.
At least 37 people were killed in two separate blasts on Friday that targeted shoppers in a busy market in the northeastern city of Parachinar, AFP quoted senior Pakistani official Basir Khan Wazir as saying.
Some 150 people were also wounded in the attacks, which took place three minutes from each other. Most of those killed were Muslims buying food for iftar, the meal that marks the end of their daily fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks in Parachinar, a city which lies just near the border with Afghanistan.’
Read more: Blasts, shootings claim 54 lives across Pakistan