At least 15 people, including Punjab province Home Minister Shuja Khanzada, were killed and 23 injured in the attack, Xinhua news agency reported.
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Police and rescue teams reached the blast site and launched rescue operation to recover the bodies and injured from the debris.
A report from an initial investigation given to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif revealed that the home minister was killed in retaliation of the killing of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi chief Malik Ishaq and others.
Lashkar-e-Islam, a Taliban-affiliated militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened that such attacks would continue in the future.
He said that the Punjab cabinet would recommend the federal government to announce the highest civilian award for the late Shuja Khanzada.
Khanzada’s relatives and friends said that he had been facing several death threats and was usually accompanied by his security squad.
Retired Major Gen Mubashir Zahid has said that it appeared that those involved in the attack had “some sympathizers” in the government ranks.
The deceased minister was leading an increase in security operations against insurgents linked to the al-Qaida in Punjab and Pakistani Taliban.
According to ISPR, the army chief said that such dastardly coward attempts could not dent our national resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism.
Punjab, Pakistan’s biggest and wealthiest province, is the political heartland of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“Such blatant disregard for human life is unacceptable and contrary to the aspirations of the Pakistani people for a secure, stable, and prosperous nation”, the spokesman said.
“The attack on the minister was well-coordinated showing that the terrorists had full information about him”, he said.
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Last month the leader of an anti-Shiite group behind some of Pakistan’s worst sectarian atrocities was killed in a shootout with police, along with 13 other militants.
