LAHORE, March 6: Police on Thursday claimed arresting three suspected would-be suicide bombers belonging to a banned militant organisation near a bus stand in Shafeeqabad.

The police team, assisted by a secret agency, found 50kg of explosives, four explosives-packed jackets, four bundles of orange fuse cable, several bundles of electric and non-electric detonators, orange-coated fuses and two bottles of explosive chemical.

The accused — Abdul Majid of Khanpur, Qamar Saleem of Gujranwala and Nadeem Shahzad of Kot Radha Kishan, Kasur — had reportedly confessed to having planned to target sensitive installations and important government personalities and carry out terrorist activities, including suicide attacks and bombings, in Lahore.

Capital City Police Officer (additional IG) Malik Mohammad Iqbal said that Shafeeqabad police had received information that three suicide bombers had entered the city with a large quantity of explosives.

Police said they arrested the accused after they had alighted from a bus coming from some ‘tribal area’ and were waiting for local transport near the bus stand.

He said the three men had also confessed to being members of a defunct militant group. He did not specify.

Mr Iqbal said he believed the police had averted horrific devastations in the provincial capital and ensured people’s safety.

When asked to identify the targeted installations and personalities, the CCPO said it was inappropriate to disclose the information at this time because of the matter’s sensitivity.

He also declined to say if the three men were connected with the suicide attacks at the GPO Chowk and the Naval War College.

He said the arrests had been made possible because of “effective intelligence sharing and coordination between the law-enforcement agencies”.