LAHORE: The suicide attack in the city has widely been condemned by political and religious parties and traders.

PML-N chief and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the suicide blast as an unfortunate incident and expressed his sorrows for the loss of lives in it.

He appealed to the people to get united against the saboteurs to save the country from explosions and killings.

Governor Salmaan Taseer expressed his deep sense of sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives.

Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Syed Munawwar Hasan alleged an Indian hand in it could not be ruled out.

He said it was the third incident in a row as dozens of precious lives had been lost in two earlier attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Liberty and at the Manawan police training centre.

Secretary-general Liaquat Baloch said the rulers might describe the incident as a ‘reaction to any action,’ but the fact remained that anti-Pakistan forces, including the US, India and Israel, were targeting our sovereignty and independence.

He advised the ruling junta to stop making the nation a fodder for the so-called US war on terror.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana Iqbal visited Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to inquire after the injured. He also visited Mayo Hospital where around 10 assembly employees hurt in the incident had been admitted.

Opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Zaheeruddin said the incident had exposed tall claims of good governance of the Shahbaz government.

He recalled that the chief minister had stated on the occasion of the Manawan attack that the incident happened because efficient officers posted by the PML-N government had been removed in the governor’s rule. He questioned as to why the ugly incidents were taking place now when each and every police office had been filled by handpicked officers of the chief minister.

Punjab PPP president Rana Aftab and secretary-general Samiullah Khan also condemned the incident.

They said the terrorists, after failing to intimidate the government in Swat, were acting cowardly but the administration and the people would foil their nefarious designs.

Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan and provincial chief Ahsan Rasheed also condemned the blast and expressed sympathies for the families of the people killed or injured in the incident.

The Anjuman-i-Tajran Pakistan also condemned the bombing of Rescue 15 building by terrorists.

Anjuman president Haji Maqsood, secretary-general Abdul Razzaq and Lahore president Ashraf Bhatti said extremists were promoting terrorism to weaken Pakistan.

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry also described the destruction of Rescue 15 building as a serious security failure.

Chamber president Muzaffar Ali said the attack on police offices should serve as an eye-opener for those sitting at the helm of affairs as it had shown the vulnerability of law enforcement agencies to terrorist attacks.

He said the government should revamp the intelligence and security network to prevent recurrence of such incidence.

The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front also condemned the suicide attack and urged the government to bring the culprits to book.

PIAF chairman Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said in a statement that anti-social elements were trying to destabilise the country by carrying out subversive activities.

He stressed the need for making maximum allocation of funds for improvement of law and order in the coming budget.