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Islamabad: Three girls
were killed at a stampede during a concert of popular Pakistani
singer Atif Aslam in Lahore Monday night.
The concert, organised by a well-known private college, was held
at the Alhamra Cultural Complex, Dawn.com reported. While five
students were injured, a large number also fell unconscious, the
report said.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into
the incident.
DIG Operations Ghulam Mahmood Dogar told Dawn that there were
around 7,000 students in the hall with a capacity for 4,000.
Preliminary investigations showed that a group of girls had rushed
to take the autograph of Aslam when he was leaving at the end of
the concert, he said. The concert had ended late and anxious
parents were outside, calling their wards on their cellphones and
asking them to come out early.
Due to the rush, the college management had asked the
administration not to open the main gate because students would
use the single exit and that triggered panic.
"The girls, who were trying to approach Atif, started pushing each
other and some security guards used batons to keep them away from
the singer," he said, adding that the girls ran towards the exit
gate. This, it appears, led to the stampede.
A private TV channel, however, reported that the stampede was
caused by rumours about a bomb. Shoes and other belongings of
students were found scattered over the place.
Two of the dead girls were identified as Maheen Naseem, 17, of
Walton Road and Farah Nawaz of Canal View. The injured, Wajiha,
Safeera, Nimra, Zoya and Muneeba, were admitted to surgical and
medical wards of Services Hospital, the report said.
A hospital official said that three of the girls had arrived dead
and five others were under treatment with light to moderate
injuries.
She said that two of the injured were discharged after treatment
and the condition of three others was stable.
Atif Aslam is a popular singer who has also made his mark in
Bollywood with songs like "Woh Lamhe".
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