July 2010 Lahore bombings

July 2010 Lahore attacks
Location	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Date	1 July 2010 (UTC+5)
Target	Sufi shrine
Attack type	2 Suicide bombings
Deaths	50
Non-fatal injuries	200+

The July 2010 Lahore bombings occurred on 1 July 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the Sufi shrine, Data Durbar Complex. At least 50 people died and 200 others were hurt in the blasts. This was the biggest attack on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan since 2001.

Tasawwuf is a part of Islam and the Sufis are those who practice Tasawwuf. Within the last few centuries it has come under attack from the Wahhabism which consider it polytheistic (which is a claim heavily refuted and disproven).

The Data Durbar shrine is the burial place of the Sufi saint Syed Ali Hajwairi. His book 'Kashif-ul-Mahjub' (which literally means 'unveiling of the veiled') is the first treatise in Sufi literature known as 'Malfujat'. Thursdays are the busiest days at the shrine as a large number of devotees come to pay their respects and attain blessings.

The shrine was mostly frequented by members of the Ahle-Sunnath Wal Jamath sect whom the Taliban consider heretics. The shrine was known for its colourful festivals in which the devotees dance, a practice considered un-Islamic by the Taliban. In March 2009 Taliban militants had bombed the shrine of Sufi poet Rahman Baba and in June 2009 Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi a moderate cleric belonging to the Ahle-Sunnath Wal Jamath sect was killed in a suicide bombing blamed on Taliban.

Police initially said that three suicide bombers attacked the shrine. One attack occurred at gate number 5 to the shrine, one in the courtyard, and one in the basement. The attackers struck in the evening, when the shrine was most busy due to the cooler weather.

Doctors said they expected the death toll to rise; and at Mayo Hospital, where the injured were sent, officials declared a state of emergency. Twenty-five people were in critical condition according to hospital officials. The Lahore Police Commissioner Khusro Pervez also appealed to people not to rush to hospitals.