NEW DELHI - THE area outside the National Bank of Pakistan's main branch in Rawalpindi, some 500m from the gates of the military's General Headquarters, is a busy one, dotted with shops, tailors and hotels such as the Shalimar.

On Monday, queues had begun to form, as pensioners and servicemen began to collect pay and pensions on the first working day of the month.

Some had come on motorcycles, others on bicycles. A few had driven there.

Then, without warning, the sound of a massive explosion ripped through the mid-morning air. It could be heard several kilometres away.

'I was some distance away when the blast took place and I quickly reversed my vehicle,' Police Superintendent Ishtiaq Shah said in front of TV cameras. 'By the time I got to the site there were bodies and limbs everywhere. We believe the bomb was placed in a motorcycle.'

Edhi ambulance service, the voluntary organisation that is almost always the first to reach such spots after the police, reported that at least 34 people had died in the attack. Dozens more were wounded, many grievously.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times

ravi@sph.com.sg