RAWALPINDI: At least 20 people were injured, five of them seriously, when an improvised explosive device (IED) believed to be attached to a motorcycle parked near a restaurant on Gordon College Road went off on Thursday night, police and eyewitnesses said.

Panic gripped the city because the explosion was heard far and wide.

A large number of people residing in and around the Gordon College Road area came out of their houses in panic and rushed to the bomb site.

Police personnel too rushed to the place and moved the injured to hospital with the help of volunteers.

Several motorcycles parked near the restaurant were damaged and windowpanes of the nearby shops were smashed due to the high intensity of the explosion.

According to preliminary analyses made by police and bomb disposal squad personnel, the IED was attached to a motorcycle parked outside the restaurant.

City Police Officer Humayun Bashir Tarar said the apparent target of the bomb attack was the owner of the restaurant who had been receiving threats.

“Yes, it could be linked to extortion demands because a similar attempt was made on the life of owner of a restaurant in Islamabad,” Mr Tarar said.

Personnel of the bomb disposal squad said the IED weighed about 1kg and was attached to a motorbike.

They quoted some witnesses as saying that a teenager was seen going away after parking the motorcycle near the eatery.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2014