Nearly all criminals of Lahore blast about to get arrested: Sheikh Rasheed

• Sheikh Rasheed says intelligence agencies were near arresting all but one criminal involved in the blast.
• There is no case that the country's intelligence agencies were not able to solve, he says.
• "We have arrested a very dangerous group from Karachi," the interior minister says.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said Monday that intelligence agencies have "nearly arrested all except for one criminal involved in Lahore's Johar Town blast" that took the lives of three people and injured dozens.

The minister, speaking to a private news channel, said there has been no case which the country's intelligence agencies were not able to solve, adding that they had traced almost all the criminals and had located the place where the car — used in the blast — was "manufactured".

The interior minister said a terrorist group had been rounded up in Karachi, but he clarified it had "nothing to do with the Lahore blast."

"We have arrested a very dangerous group from Karachi [...] They were trying to spread terrorism in Pakistan," the interior minister said, adding that the group was linked to India's intelligence agency, RAW.

'Anti-Pakistan agency involved in blast'

Earlier in the day, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had revealed during a press conference that some "anti-state agencies" were involved in Lahore's Johar Town blast.

"Terrorists responsible for the Johar Town bomb blast in Lahore have been arrested," said the chief minister. "An anti-Pakistan agency is involved in the bomb blast," he added.

He said that the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab had traced the culprits behind the incident within 16 hours of the blast.

The chief minister heaped praise on CTD Punjab for pursuing the case in a professional manner to expose those who were behind the attack.

"All local and international characters behind the blast were identified [by the CTD Punjab]," he said. "I want to inform our friends in the media that we have conducted raids across the country, in just four days, to arrest the terrorists involved in the incident."

Taking over the presser, Punjab Inspector-General (IG) Inam Ghani delved into details of the investigation, saying that CTD Punjab had been able to arrest culprits "within hours" of the incident, adding that police was able to ascertain how the car used in the blast was bought and through which means.

"We have arrested the main linchpin who had the blast carried out in Pakistan," said Ghani. "We have arrested the ones who were used in Pakistan to conduct the blast, those who bought the car and repaired it as well, are also under arrest," he revealed.

Ghani said 10 Pakistanis were arrested in connection with the blast, adding that they comprised both men and women. He said Punjab police has also managed to identify the people who are part of a foreign agency involved in the incident.

"We have shared [the information] with our intelligence agencies as to who the members of this anti-state agency are," said Ghani. "A JIT has also been constituted under the chief minister's directives, to investigate the case further" he added.

The Punjab police chief said the way this attack was carried out indicates that this was not the first time this group was carrying out subversive activities in Pakistan.

"We will also investigate which activities, in which parts of Pakistan, this agency carried out and we will come to a conclusion," he vowed. "As far as the hostile anti-state agencies are concerned, we have names at the moment, but if there are others involved, we will get to them as well," added Ghani.

Three killed, 24 injured

Three persons died, while at least 24 people were left wounded after an explosion occurred in a house in Lahore's Johar Town area last week.

Witnesses said the glass windows of nearby houses and buildings were shattered. One of the buildings has been severely damaged and some vehicles parked at the site of the blast have also been affected.

Hospital officials said nearly two dozens people sustained injuries and have been shifted to Lahore's Jinnah Hospital via private cars and auto-rickshaws.