The leader of the attack, a former soldier who deserted in 2004 and joined a militant group based in Punjab province, was the only attacker captured alive but wounded, Abbas said.
The man, identified as Aqeel, also known as Dr Usman, was from Punjab, he said.
Abbas said that while the Taliban and Punjabi militant groups had links there were no militant "safe havens" in Punjab, Pakistan's biggest and economically most important province.
Earlier on Monday, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks.
"It was carried out by our Punjab unit," Tariq said by telephone. "We will take revenge for our martyrs and will carry out more attacks, whether it's the GHQ or something bigger," he said, referring to the army's General Headquarters.
A ground offensive in South Waziristan could be the army's toughest test since the militants turned on the state.
The army has not said when it would begin but Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on the weekend it was "imminent."
The military has been conducting air and artillery strikes for months, while moving troops, blockading the region and trying to win over factions.
Military aircraft attacked in the region on Monday killing up to five militants, an intelligence official said, a day after about 16 militants were killed in air strikes.
"There is no mercy for them because our determination and resolve is to flush them out," Malik told Reuters in an interview in Singapore. "They have no room in Pakistan, I promise you."
About 28,000 troops have been put in place to take on an estimated 10,000 hard-core Taliban, army officials said earlier.
Monday's blast, the fourth big attack in a week, triggered selling on Pakistan's main stock market, which fell 1.3 percent.
"The market witnessed a correction due to security concerns across the country," said Furqan Punjabi, analyst at Topline Securities Ltd.
Source: Reuters
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