LAHORE (Pakistan) - A CAR bomb exploded on Wednesday in a heavily guarded neighborhood of an eastern Pakistani city where many government officials live, leaving one woman dead and four people wounded, police said.

The blast in Lahore, which borders India, came amid tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors over the deadly attacks in Mumbai last month, which Indian authorities have blamed on Pakistan-based militants. It was not immediately clear if the attacks were linked.

The explosives were planted in a mini-truck parked in the Mazang Chungi area of the city, said senior police official Umer Virk. The blast killed a woman and wounded four other members of a Christian family who were driving to a Christmas-related function, Mr Virk said.

The vehicle that exploded bore an official government registration plate. It was obliterated, with pieces scattered for 200m, while the wall of a nearby house collapsed, police said.

'This is an attempt by terrorists to create panic and spread terror,' police officer Atif Mairaj said. 'We can't say who is behind it until the matter is investigated.' Senior police official Pervez Rathore said the truck apparently gained access to the neighborhood because of its official plates.

The area is walled off and filled with guards watching over the homes of government officials.

'We are investigating whether the vehicle was stolen or a fake number plate was used to bring the vehicle in the secured area,' Mr Rathore said.

Pakistan has witnessed scores of bombings in the past two years, but most have occurred in its north-west regions bordering Afghanistan, where Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants have long proliferated and the army has been carrying out offensives.

The fighting along the Afghan frontier has recently been overshadowed by the diplomatic showdown with India. Pakistan's longtime rival says the attackers who killed 164 people in its commercial capital in late November were from the Muslim nation.

Pakistan has cracked down on groups allegedly linked to the Mumbai slaughter and detained some suspects, but it has demanded India hand over evidence backing up its claims. -- AP