According to reports from Daily Mail, a suicide bomber has killed at least 55 people and wounded more than 120 during a 'flag-lowering' ceremony at the main Pakistan-India border crossing.  

The explosion happened at the Wagah border gate near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore after the display of military pageantry that attracts thousands of spectators every day.

Crowds gather at Wagah each sunset to watch the ceremony that accompanies the formal closing of the border post. 

The attack is a rare strike in Punjab, Pakistan's richest and most populous province. 

The area, which is also the power-base of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has been spared the worst of the bloody wave of Islamist violence that has assailed the country in recent years.

Mushtaq Sukhera, the Punjab provincial police chief, said: 'It appears to have been a suicide attack. At least 55 people have been killed and more than 120 wounded. Women and children were also killed.'

Lahore police chief Amin Wains confirmed it was a suicide attack. It appears the blast took place some distance from the famous crossing point itself.

'People were returning after watching the parade at Wagah border when the blast took place. Ball bearings were found at the scene,' he said.