At least 45 people were killed in the suicide blast on Monday, said Rehmat Saleh Baloch, health minister for the Balochistan province.

He added that there were fears that the death toll could rise further, as more than 50 others were wounded in the attack.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti said: "The blast occurred after a number of lawyers and some journalists had gathered at the hospital following the death of the president of the Balochistan Bar Association in a separate shooting incident early this morning."

The lawyers were at the unit because earlier in the day armed men, who are still unidentified, had shot Bilal Anwar Kasi, reports said.

Kasi, who later died from his injuries, was the former president of the Balochistan Bar Association. He had been on his way to work when he was attacked.

Several people were wounded as they rushed to leave the hospital, Dawn reported.

Pakistani media said that journalists were among those wounded, with at least one cameraman killed. That cameraman was named by local media as Aaj TV's Shehzad Khan.

(Al Jazeera)