LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that the blast in Lahore’s DHA area, a day earlier was not an act of terror but an “accident”, as forensic samples collected from the site had shown that the blast was a cylinder explosion.
Addressing a press conference here, the provincial law minister said six samples collected from the building where the blast that killed 10 people took place did not contain traces of explosives. He said the collected samples had hinted at a gas leakage and shown presence of cylinders in the building.
“We will take strict action against those involved in using substandard cylinders that led to this explosion,” he said. He said seven people were killed and 35 injured in the incident. He said the injured are recovering well.
He regretted that some TV channels had given the DHA blast spin of a terrorism incident and later ran news of another blast and then reports that Lahore was being hit by bomb blasts caused “fear and panic” among the citizens.
He said war against terrorism is a national war and every one including security forces, government, political parties, and the media will have fight it collectively with courage and determination to bring it to logical end. He said we have a responsible medi and all sections are playing their role in fight against terrorism. He said the law enforcement agencies have sacrificed their lives and even media people were martyred.
Rana Sanaullah said Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has directed the provincial secretary information to sit with the media and devise a strategy so as to prevent unsubstantiated reporting of events.
To a question, the law minister said that it would be ensured that there would be a spokesman of the government to brief the media and a procedure will be evolved for coordination and speedy information to the media.
Answering a question, Sanaullah said the decision about whether the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final will be held in Lahore or not will be shared with the public.
The explosion, which was given a mysterious touch by an unending variety of explanations from police officers, partially damaged some nearby buildings. Some vehicles and motorbikes parked in the immediate surroundings were also damaged. INP