The factory may have suffered structural damage in the October 26 quake, he said.
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However, a few of the relatives of workers believed to be trapped were pressuring the government to speed up the rescue operation.
Army teams also reached the site and carried out search and rescue operation alongside the city administration teams, the ISPR said.
At least 18 people were killed, and more than 50 injured after the roof of a factory collapsed near Lahore in Pakistan on Wednesday.
Muhammed Younis Bhatti, an official of emergency responder Edhi Rescue Services, said 97 survivors had been pulled from the rubble.
The Pakistani army is deploying a team of engineers and experts to help rescue efforts.
Construction to build a third floor above the two operational floors was underway at the time of the collapse.
Formerly several stories high, no part of the building remained standing after the disaster, and hundreds of rescue workers including soldiers have been picking through piles of concrete and bricks to find survivors. More than 80 injured people were taken to nearby hospitals, according to local police.
The factory is located in Lahore’s Sundar Industrial Estate and manufactures polythene bags.
A state of emergency has been declared in all public hospitals in the city. He said, “I can hear the rumble of heavy machines, which gives me hope that I will come out alive”. They alleged that the factory had approval for three storeys but the owner was constructing the fourth one. He directed that doctors and medical staff should efficiently look after the injured and all out medical facilities should be provided to them.
The chief minister of the eastern Punjab province, Shahbaz Sharif, has ordered an inquiry into the collapse, DW correspondent Tanvir Shahzad reported from Lahore.
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Pakistan has a poor record of maintaining building codes and industrial safety laws which have rendered many buildings across the country unsafe during natural disasters like earthquakes or floods.
