QUETTA: Security forces Wednesday night detained former Nazim Quetta, Mir Maqbool Ahmed Lehri of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in connection with seizure of more than 100 tons of explosives from a warehouse in the Balochistan capital, raided on Tuesday.

An official of the Frontier Corps, who did not wish to be named, told Dawn.com that police backed by security forces arrested Lehri from his residence late on Wednesday night.

Lehri is the provincial leader of Pakistan People’s Party. He had served as the city Nazim during former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s regime.

The FC official said senior police and security officers were interrogating the former Nazim for allegedly possessing explosive materials.

He said Mir Maqbool Ahmed Lehri was the owner of the warehouse where forces had recovered 100 tons of explosive materials from on Tuesday.

The FC had foiled a major bid of terrorism by seizing 104,480 kilogram of explosives and arresting ten suspected militants.

“For the first time such huge quantity of explosive material has been seized in the history of country,” FC commandant Colonel Maqbool Ahmed said.

Another paramilitary official earlier on Wednesday said that the warehouse where troops confiscated more than 100 tons of chemicals had been used in recent attacks on troops and minority Shia Muslims.