MUZAFFARGARH: A bomb weighing about 10 kilograms was found outside an imambargah on Sunday morning and defused by the Bomb Disposal Squad in Alipur Tehsil of Punjab's Muzaffargarh district.

A majlis for women was taking place at the Markazi Imambargah Hussainia since Saturday evening, which ended pre-maturely after the discovery of the explosives conclealed in a milk drum placed outside the place of worship. The Majlis was scheduled to end around noon today.

The bomb disposal squad and additional contingents of police arrived at the site. The explosives were defused by the BDS personnel on the spot.

Fear and panic gripped the area as the incident. Area residents questioned as to how the explosives had managed to reach near the imambargah, which has a heavy security cordon around it and is situated in an area which has been declared as 'sensitive' several times during the past.

District Poilice Officer Muzaffargarh Owais Malik reached the spot and ordered a search operation in the surrounding areas.

No one claimed responsibility for the terror bid.

Read analysis: Militants still have support base in Punjab

Malik Ishaq, chief of banned sectarian outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, his two sons Usman and Haq Nawaz, and 11 attackers were killed in an alleged exchange of fire with police personnel in Muzaffargarh district on July 29 this year.

DPO Muzaffargarh has been receiving frequent threats after Ishaq's killing.