Punjab’s police chief says the blast took place near Hafiz Saeed’s residence in Johar Town

A bomb blast in the Johar Town area of Lahore on Wednesday claimed the lives of at least three people and left 21 injured.

Citing Punjab’s Inspector General of Police Inam Ghani, Dawn reported that the blast took place near the residence of proscribed Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, which was being guarded by policemen. The media outlet reported that the house had been damaged in the blast.

The injured included women and children. 13 people were receiving medical treatment at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital, including seven who were in critical condition, as per the last reports on the matter, while eight others had been discharged.

The explosion, which took place around 11am, also damaged the infrastructure of the neighborhood.

The provincial police chief told the media that while the lives of the victims could not be compensated, officials were assessing the damage and those behind the attack would be held accountable. He added that the Counter-Terrorism Department had taken over the investigation and would investigate whether it was a suicide attack or an improvised explosive device was used for the blast.

He further said that these attacks are conducted by those who wish to harm the country, but there was peace in the country “because of our intelligence agencies”. Citing a police statement, the media outlet reported that the terrorists could not cause much damage due to the “presence of the police team” in the vicinity.

Later, the police chief took to Twitter to urge the media to cooperate with the security agencies as the investigation would be held “outside the clamour of the media”.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also took notice of the incident, and ordered an investigation into the incident. He also sought a report from the police chief. The CM directed the authorities to help the injured by providing them the best medical facilities.