LAHORE, Jan 9: Five low-intensity explosions ripped through two theatres in Lahore on Friday, sending a chill down the spines of Lahorites. No casualties were reported as the theatres were closed because of Muharram.

Law enforcement agencies linked the fresh incidents with the Garhi Shahu and Al Hamra Cultural Complex blasts a few months ago, saying their motive, too, appeared to be to scare people off theatres that stage ‘obscene’ plays.

Four of the five explosions happened on the premises of Al Falah Theatre, on The Mall Road, within a span of 10 minutes, starting at 8.20pm.

At 10.25pm, another device exploded at the entrance of the Tamaseel Theatre, on Ferozpur Road.

The blasts sowed panic, making passers-by, shopkeepers, journalists and even policemen run for safety.

The police claimed to have arrested two suspected bearded men after cordoning off the area.

In the Tamaseel blast, an eyewitness told officials of a crime investigation agency that he had seen two men affixing “something” at the theatre’s entrance. “When I asked them what they were doing, they did not answer and left the area on their bike. The blast took place after they had left,” an official quoted him as saying.

The blast damaged a gas supply line, which was being repaired at the time of the filing of this report.

The blasts led to the spread of unfounded rumours that created more harassment.

The police are still clueless about the identity of the elements involved in the two previous blasts.

DIG (Investigation) Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera told Dawn that a detonator had been found at the Al Falah blast site.

He claimed that a small group of extremists could be involved in these acts. “Although we have detained a couple of suspects in connection with the previous blasts, no clue has been found about the miscreants.”

He said: “We had information that the same group could strike cinemas and theatres and we had asked their owners to take precautionary measures.”

Another senior officer said that counter-terrorism was primarily the duty of the intelligence agencies. “Police cannot be expected to perform the task (of counter-terrorism). Force can only be used to maintain law and order.” The blasts badly disrupted traffic on The Mall and Ferozepur Road.