Bomb kills five at Sufi Muslim shrine in Pakistan

A bomb planted on a motorcycle has exploded outside a Sufi shrine in central Pakistan, killing at least five people.

At least one woman was among the dead, and 13 people were wounded. The bombing at the Farid Shakar Ganj shrine in Punjab province shattered shops, leaving large piles of rubble and broken wood.

Explosive experts examined the twisted and charred body of the motorcycle on which the bomb was placed.

Irshad Ali, the owner of a nearby shop that sells beads, ran to the site after hearing an explosion at 6.20am local time.

"Within minutes I was here and saw a horrible scene," he said. "Victims were being loaded into vehicles and dust and smoke was in the air."

The blast was the latest in a string of attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan. Islamist militants often target Sufis, whose mystical practices clash with their hardline interpretation of Islam.

A senior Sufi scholar, Mufti Muneebur Rehman, criticised the government for not doing enough to protect the Sufi population. "Our rulers are too busy serving foreign masters and have not prioritised protecting the people and sacred places from terrorists," he said.