An explosion has taken place near the Provincial Election Commission office in Karachi’s Saddar area, according to officials.

South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Syed Asad Raza said some “miscreants” had placed a plastic bag containing explosive material inside the office’s parking area, adding that a staff member responsible for cleaning cars spotted it and threw the bag near the Saddar passport office.

The DIG said that the bomb’s fuse did not set off after hitting the ground but the actual explosive material did not explode as the time device was not activated.

Raza said that the bomb weighed around 400 grammes and was attached to a time device.

The officer suggested the possibility that the bomb was supposed to go off between 9pm to 10pm on Friday, further saying that its apparent target was the election commission office.

The office is located in the same vicinity as other important structures such as the Sindh High Court and Sindh Assembly’s residential building.