Three small bombs exploded in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, slightly injuring at least four people, officials said.
The bombs went off inside or very close to two jewelry shops and a beauty parlor in a busy shopping area, police official Sohail Sukhera said. Police cordoned off the area and took the four or five victims to hospital, he said. None were seriously hurt.
Sajjad Bhutta, a city official, said the bombs appeared designed to "spread panic and fear" rather than kill.
He said local religious hard-liners might have planted them to scare young unmarried couples who frequent the area. However, he offered no evidence and no group claimed responsibility.
Lahore lies far from the western border, where Islamic militants blamed for attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan have found refuge. But it has not been spared from the violence.
On Jan. 10, a suicide bomber blew himself up among police guarding a court, killing 24 people and wounding scores more. Two months later, 24 more people died when attackers in explosives-laden vehicles devastated two buildings, including a federal police headquarters, in the city.
