3000 kgs of explosives, machine guns recovered in Lahore

Lahore, Mar.17 (ANI): Over 3000 kilograms of explosive materials and four advance machine guns were recovered by the Lahore Police from a shop in the Allama Iqbal Town.

The owner of the shop, Javed Sheikh, has also been arrested and is being interrogated.

The recovery of arms and ammunition comes just a day after 1500 kilograms of explosive materials and several suicide vests was found in a raid the same area of the city.

The 3,000 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate and potassium, which were packed in 200 small sacks, is the biggest quantity of explosive material ever to be seized in Lahore, The Daily Times reports.

Confirming the recovery of huge cache of arms and ammunition, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) (Operations) Shafiq Ahmed said the explosives were stocked for triggering some 'major terrorist attack' in the city, which has witnessed two deadly attacks in the past fortnight.

Ahmed said a combination of the two chemicals seized could be lethal and destroy everything in a radius of 500 metres.

Bomb disposal squad officials said ammonium nitrate, which is used as a fertilizer for crops, were packed in sacks which bore the mark of 'Pak-Arab Fertilizer'.

Meanwhile, the recovery of huge explosives and arms has panicked Lahore citizens, who fear that a massive terror strike is looming large over the city and other parts of the province.

However, it is also believed that the extremists had deliberately stocked the explosives in the shop to show their 'strength'. (ANI)