Dubai: Three people have been killed in a stampede during a concert by popular Pakistani singer Atif Aslam in Lahore on Monday night. According to Pakistan's English daily Dawn, five students were also injured at the concert, held at the Alhamra Cultural Complex.
Ghulam Mahmood Dogar, the Deputy Inspector General, Operations, told the newspaper that about 7,000 students were cramped into the hall, which has 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 was reported as saying.
"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 single exit gate.
According to Indo-Asian News Service, a private TV channel has however reported that the stampede was caused by rumours of a bomb. Shoes and other belongings of students were found scattered over the place, it said.
Aslam, who made his mark in Bollywood with the hit song Woh Lamhe, is scheduled to perform at the opening of the Celebrity Cricket League in Sharjah on Friday. His management confirmed to tabloid! the show would go ahead as planned.
"Today's incident has left me in a state of shock and dismay," the singer posted on his Facebook fan page. "I am deeply saddened by what transpired after Monday's concert. My deepest condolences to the victims and their families for the terrible loss that they have suffered and I pray that Allah will help them through this ordeal."
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
