Islamabad: Confusion prevailed in Pakistan's Quetta city after the Frontier Constabulary claimed it seized around 6,000 kilograms of explosives which later turned out to be blankets, toys and other harmless commodities.
Conflicting reports were flashed by television channels about the seizure which took place just outside the provincial capital of the troubled Balochistan province today.
The channels first flashed news about the FC having stopped a passenger bus and than seized the huge quantity of explosives.
"Yes we first thought the bags on the bus contained explosives as the bus was stopped on a tip-off," a senior official of the FC said.
"Initially we found Potassium Chloride in the bags which are used to make explosives but later on closer inspection it turned out to the harmless urea," Captain Jauhar Siddiqui said.
He confirmed that more searches of the bags later also yielded toys, eatables, blankets and other commodities.
"None of which were dangerous," he added.
The FC also claimed they had arrested five men during the operation but they were later released.
Another official said the urea seized in the bags was harmless and not the sort used to make explosives.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 03, 2012, 08:18