At least 25 people, including two children, were killed and over 50 injured when a suspected suicide bomber struck a religious gathering in Dera Ghazi Khan town in Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday.
The blast occurred shortly before 1900 hrs when about 100 people had joined a religious procession outside an imambargah or Shia prayer hall.
Officials said about a dozen people were killed on the spot while others died in hospital.Local health officials said two children were among the dead and two
of the injured were in serious condition.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Police officials said initial investigations had indicated that the blast was caused by a suspected suicide bomber as there was no crater at the site of the attack.
They said the militants targetted the religious procession near the prayer hall of Pakistan's minority Shia community to foment unrest. The imambargah is located in a thickly populated area in the centre of Dera Ghazi Khan.