<p>At least three young girls were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede after a concert by singer Atif Aslam at an arts complex in this eastern Pakistani city today, officials said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A large number of students of the Punjab College of Commerce had come to witness the concert at Alhamra Cultural Complex.<br /><br />The stampede occurred when private security guards used batons to push back a group of girls who rushed towards Aslam to get his autograph, police said.<br /><br />"When the concert ended, some girls rushed towards Mr Aslam to get his autograph. To save Mr Aslam from the crowd, the security guards resorted to a light baton charge which caused panic among the girls," Deputy Inspector General of Police Ghulam Mahmood Doga quoting a witness as saying.<br /><br />Dogar told PTI that the students then rushed to the exit, where the stampede occurred.<br />A large number of students were injured or fell unconscious.<br /><br />The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, where doctors declared three female business students dead, Dogar said.<br /><br />Officials described the condition of five injured persons as critical.<br /><br />Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered an inquiry into the incident.<br /><br />The Punjab College of Commerce is owned by Dunya TV chief executive Mian Amer Mahmood.<br /><br />"The media is down playing the incident because the college is owned by a major media group," said a senior police officer who did not want to be named.<br /><br />The mother of one of the students who died, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: <br /><br />"There was sheer mismanagement by the college administration. The administration has taken the life of my daughter."<br /><br />She urged authorities to fix responsibility for the incident.</p>
<p>At least three young girls were killed and dozens more injured in a stampede after a concert by singer Atif Aslam at an arts complex in this eastern Pakistani city today, officials said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A large number of students of the Punjab College of Commerce had come to witness the concert at Alhamra Cultural Complex.<br /><br />The stampede occurred when private security guards used batons to push back a group of girls who rushed towards Aslam to get his autograph, police said.<br /><br />"When the concert ended, some girls rushed towards Mr Aslam to get his autograph. To save Mr Aslam from the crowd, the security guards resorted to a light baton charge which caused panic among the girls," Deputy Inspector General of Police Ghulam Mahmood Doga quoting a witness as saying.<br /><br />Dogar told PTI that the students then rushed to the exit, where the stampede occurred.<br />A large number of students were injured or fell unconscious.<br /><br />The injured were taken to nearby hospitals, where doctors declared three female business students dead, Dogar said.<br /><br />Officials described the condition of five injured persons as critical.<br /><br />Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif ordered an inquiry into the incident.<br /><br />The Punjab College of Commerce is owned by Dunya TV chief executive Mian Amer Mahmood.<br /><br />"The media is down playing the incident because the college is owned by a major media group," said a senior police officer who did not want to be named.<br /><br />The mother of one of the students who died, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: <br /><br />"There was sheer mismanagement by the college administration. The administration has taken the life of my daughter."<br /><br />She urged authorities to fix responsibility for the incident.</p>
