'Premature to fix responsibility of Lahore blast on any group'

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Friday said it is premature to fix responsibility of the Lahore’s Anarkali blast over any group, investigation is underway.

“As interior minister, I’m not in a position to tell which group is behind Lahore blast,” Sheikh Rasheed said while talking to ARY News program Bakhabar Savera.

At least three persons including a child were killed and 29 others were injured in a bomb blast that took place on Thursday evening at 1:40 pm in the busy Anarkali area of Lahore.

Replying to a question related to increasing terror incidents in the country, Sheikh Rasheed said TTP accepted that their two men were killed in the recent attack over police in Islamabad.

Trying to ‘improve’ the law and order situation with the help of the Afghan Taliban, but if it is not, we are ready to face any situation, he added.

Initial investigation report

Inspector General (IG) Punjab has presented the initial investigation report of the Lahore blast to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

It stated that the explosion was carried out through a remote device and 1.5 kilograms of explosive material was used by the terrorists. The exact location of the bomb explosion was Lohari Chowk and it caused damages to the building and eight motorcycles.

The report stated that two people were killed including Ramzan and Absar and 28 sustained injuries in the explosion that took place at 1:40 pm and rescue officials were informed at 1:44 pm.

The officials of Lahore police and local administration have immediately rushed to the incident site. It added that police, forensic agencies and officials of sensitive institutions are still present at the scene.

The police report said that an investigation is underway to collect evidence of the explosive material’s genre via CCTV footage.

Regarding the medical assistance to the wounded persons, the report stated that the affected citizens are being given the best medical facilities. The administration imposed an emergency in all hospitals after the bomb explosion.

It added that some suspected persons have been arrested who are being interrogated.