ATC extends physical remand of suspect in Anarkali blast

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court on Thursday granted physical remand of suspect Saifur Rehman in Anarkali blast case until April 12, ARY NEWS reported.

The investigation officer asked the ATC to extend the physical remand by 14 days. The court however extended the remand to April 12 after the suspect was presented in the court under strict security measures.

The Punjab government has constituted a joint investigation team (JIT) headed by superintendent police (SP) Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Naseebullah Khan to probe into Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar bomb blast.

A five-member JIT has been constituted by the Punjab Home Department that will be headed by SP CTD Lahore Region Naseebullah Khan.

The other members include the representatives of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Investigation Lahore Muhammad Ashraf Chadhar and CTD Investigation Officer (IO) Inspector Munir Ahmad.

At least three persons including a child were killed and over 20 others were injured in a bomb blast that took place on Thursday evening at 1:40 pm in the busy Anarkali area of Lahore.

The Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) officials said that 10-kilogram explosive material was used in the explosion. A thorough investigation has been launched to ascertain the genre of the explosion.