Pak PM, Army chief condemns Lahore blast

Pakistan' Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has condemned and expressed his grief for loss of innocent lives in Lahore blast that claimed the lives of 13 persons including senior police officers.

He instructed local army commander and intelligence agencies to provide all necessary assistance to civil administration in evacuation of injured to hospitals and also to apprehend those responsible for this heinous act.

Banned terrorist outfit Jamaat-ul Ahrar has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, reports Geo News.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also condemned the blast and reaffirmed that such cowardly attacks cannot shake the country's resolve against terrorism.

Sharif directed the concerned authorities to provide all possible assistance and best medical treatment to those who were wounded in the attack.

Meanwhile, security has been put on red alert in Islamabad following the blast in Lahore.

A large number of people had gathered to protest the drug rules of the provincial government near the Punjab Assembly building when a bomb exploded.

Large numbers of police personnel were deployed following the explosion.

The explosion was so powerful that it caused window panes of media vans and police mobiles parked nearby to shatter.