CHAKWAL/RAWALPINDI - At least 24 people, including three children, were killed and 140 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of an Imambargahs central gate on Sunday. Around 35 of the injured people were reported to be in a critical condition. According to details, the incident took place at 12:15pm when a teenager exploded himself up among a large number of people coming out of the Imambargah at the end of a Majlis-e-Aza. Eyewitnesses said that the teenaged boy, apparently an Afghan, reached the central gate of the Imamabargah where securitymen intercepted him when he tried to go inside the building and approach the crowd there. Upon the security interception, the boy stormed into a crowd of the people, coming out of the Imambargah, and blew himself up there. It was an extremely high-intensity explosion, which blew the bodies of the victims into pieces all around. Soon after the incident all markets of the city were closed and emergency was declared in all hospitals of the city. According to hospital sources, some of the killed persons have been identified as Bashir Ali, Jawad, Arslan Haider, Ali Haider, Habib Khan, Sajid Hussain, Ghulam Shabbir, Nusrat Hussain, Mohammad Jahangir, Haji Tawakal Abbas, Karam Elahi, Mian Khan, Sher Khan, Ahmad Khan, Wasif Hussain, Zulfiqar Hussain, Bakir Ali and Ijaz Ahmad. One injured Kamran has expired on his way to Rawalpindi. Immediately after the attack, SP Investigation along with a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and supervised the rescue operation. Later, two advisors to the Punjab government, Jahanzeb Barki and Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, IG Punjab Shaukat Javeed, MPA Begam Iffat Liaquit, DCO Chakwal also reached the spot. IG Punjab while talking to media persons confirmed that it was a suicide attack. He also told that special investigation teams have been constituted to probe the incident. Advisor to Chief Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar announced a compensation of Rs 500000 for each killed person while Rs 75000 for each injured. He also said that the Punjab government has taken certain steps to deal with the menace of terrorism. Moreover, at least 18 persons injured in the blast were brought from Chakwal to Rawalpindi at District Headquarters Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Fauji Foundation Hospital. One of the injured persons succumbed to injuries. Soon after the blast, a state of emergency was imposed in the hospitals of Rawalpindi and the Rescue 15, Rescue 1122 and the Edhi Foundation rushed towards the blast site to carry dead and injured people to hospitals. It was also told that a team of seven doctors was also sent to District Headquarters Hospital, Chakwal. The injured admitted in District Headquarters Hospital were identified as Wajahat son of Mushtaq Haidar, Farhat son of Muhammad Yaqoob, Kamran son of Muhammad Khan, Sadiq son of Lal Khan, Ghulam Akbar son of Muhammad Akbar and Zaigham Abbas son of Ramzan, while Kamran son of Muhammad Khan, resident of Khiwal, succumbed to injuries and died. Chaudhry Mazhar, Muhammad Adnan, Imran Ali, Sheharyar Ali, Muhammad Anwar, Zubair and Rafaqat Ali were admitted in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, while the condition of Chaudhry Mazhar was stated to be critical. PML-N MNA Muhammad Hanif Abbasi and MPA Raja Muhammad Hanif Advocate also visited the hospitals. Later, Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik visited the Benazir Bhutto Hospital to enquire about the health of injured persons. Talking to media persons on the occasion, he said that some negative elements wanted to create anarchy in the county through their terrorist activities but the government was committed to eliminate such elements. He also met the families of the victims and ensured them all possible help. Malik said the security of all the sensitive installations as well as public places had been beefed up to avert any untoward incident. The war against terrorism is Pakistans own war. The terrorists are being provided arms, ammunition and assistance from the other side of the border to destabilise the country, he added. Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani Sunday condemned the suicide attack on Imam Bargah in Chakwal and ordered immediate probe into the tragedy. Governors and chief ministers of the four provinces, and federal ministers as well as provincial ministers also condemned the suicide attack and expressed deep sorrow and profound grief over the loss of innocent lives. Advisor to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also ordered immediate probe into the incident and sought immediate report within 24 hours. They also expressed sympathies with the bereaved families. President Zardari, in his condolence message, expressed his deep sorrow and ordered to provide better health facilities to the injured. Prime Minister Gilani while condemning the blast said that the deplorable act seemed to be masterminded by people who were against the state and wanted to bring a bad name to the religion. Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif issued directions of providing better health facilities and free medicines to the injured. Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah while talking to media persons condemned the attack and said that the war on terror was not limited only to police and Rangers but the whole nation should arise against it. The incident is very sad and a new trend of terrorists. Earlier, they were targeting security forces and now have turned towards religious institutions, he maintained. Rana said the Punjab government had concentrated its full attention on security arrangements but the terrorists were now targeting small cities. Todays incident is totally different and we are trying to overcome it by increasing our resources. Full security would be provided to all the institutions, Rana said. About the probe into Manawan Police Station attack, he said some suspected persons had been arrested and were being interrogated, but he did not disclose details. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira and Minister of State for Information Syed Sumsam Ali Bukhari also condemned suicide attack. They said that the terrorists were enemies of Pakistan and Islam and people of Pakistan must unite together to give the terrorists strong message that acts of violence were hated by them. Federal Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar and Federal Minister for Defence Production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi while condemning the attack said that terrorist elements were bent upon to destabilise the country and create terror and panic in it. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs in their separate messages termed the suicide attack as a barbaric, inhuman and non-Islamic act. Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and Punjab provincial ministers, Governor Sindh Ishrat-ul-Ibad, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and provincial ministers, Governor Balochistan Zulfiqar Magsi, Chief Minister Aslam Raisani and provincial ministers, NWFP Governor Owais Ghani, Chief Minister Amir Haidar Khan Hoti and provincial ministers, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Awami League chief Sheikh Rashid, PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, JI leaders Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Syed Munawar, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and senators condemned the attack and termed it a cowardly act.