KARACHI, Oct 4: Police on Saturday afternoon evacuated the Karachi Expo Centre and Bomb Disposal Squad carried out a thorough search of the exhibition halls and other spaces in the vicinity after an anonymous caller warned them of the presence of a bomb somewhere in the centre.

SHO of the Aziz Bhatti police station Mohammad Farooq said that the call was made on the police helpline “15” at about 1:30pm.

No one except the staff of the Expo Centre was present in the vicinity, official in charge of the centre Riaz Sheikh said, adding that the warning, however, created considerable panic as everyone inside was asked to leave.

The SHO said that a police team, along with the BDS personnel, rushed to the centre to conduct a search for the bomb. Ambulances were also called out, he said.

The threat, however, proved to be a hoax and the BDS personnel issued a clearance certificate after finding no explosive material anywhere in the vicinity.—PPI