KARACHI, March 17: The liquefied chemical, found in the fibreglass tank, placed in the abandoned vehicle near the US consulate, was neither inflammable nor explosive, Dawn learnt here on Wednesday.

Well-placed sources said that a joint team of the Navy's and police's bomb disposal squad besides high ranking police officials carried out the exercise thrice by adopting different methods to explode chemicals between Do Darya and the Seaview beach.

Sources said that the chemicals could not explode nor could they catch fire. After the exercise, the joint team concluded that the liquefied chemicals were neither explosive nor incendiary.

DIG Karachi Operations Tariq Jamil said: "Yes, we have handed over the chemicals to the Naval team but the exercise to explode it is not in my knowledge."

A senior investigating official said: "We are perplexed as to why the chemicals were connected to two detonators and why the suspects took a high risk when these chemicals are non-explosive and this is a big question mark."

However, the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) raided more places on Wednesday to pick up suspects. They had detained some suspects on Tuesday and questioned them to find a clue to those involved in abandoning an explosive-laden vehicle adjacent to the US consulate.

The AVCC had been picking up people, who are somehow affiliated with jihadi outfits, as the investigators believe their hand behind the parking of explosive-laden vehicle, officials said.

Meanwhile, the police on Wednesday were put on high alert in view of the operation in Wana in South Waziristan and discovery of the explosive-laden vehicle on Monday near the US consulate, the sources said.

Mr Jamil said: "We have put the police on high alert since morning. They will remain on alert for some days." Asked if the action was taken in view of Wana operation and recovery of explosive-laden vehicle, he said that the recovery of the vehicle could be one of the reasons but "It is our routine exercise to put police on high alert at intervals."

However, despite the lapse of three days, the police have still not received the laboratory test report about the composition of the chemical, discovered in the vehicle, left by unidentified men near the US consulate on Monday."We have not received the lab test results about the composition of the chemicals so far neither from the private laboratory nor from the Navy", Mr Jamil told Dawn.