Seven LeJ terrorists arrested in Pak

The suspects were arrested from the posh Defence View area on Saturday night and a huge cache of arms including suicide vests, explosives and large quantities of heroin seized from them, DIG Saud Mirza told reporters.

With the swoop on these elements, police claimed to have thwarted an attempt to carry out suicide attacks in the city.

The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a group closed to Taliban, has also been linked to attacks on former former premier Shaukat Aziz Tarin.

The suspects, who had been trained in camps in South Waziristan tribal region, had plans to target offices of intelligence agencies and government officials in the city, according to the DIG. He said when the police surrounded their hideout, the men surrendered without putting up resistance.

"One of them, Shahzad, is a close associate of Amjad Farooqi who masterminded attacks on President Musharraf and PM Shaukat Tarin," Mirza said.

Police seized three suicide jackets, 15 kg of explosives, four AK-47 rifles, four pistols, two gas masks, five kilograms of ball bearings, 200 bullets and remote controls and batteries for explosive devices from the men.

Police also found about one-and-half kilogram of heroin, as the suspected terrorists were financing their activities through the sales of drugs.

Police suspect that the group provided money to Quetta-based Taliban commander Abdul Samad.

The arrested men were identified as Muhammad Aziz alias Salman, Muhammad Shahzad alias Pehlwan, Ghulam Muhammad alias Umar, Shahbaz alias Mian, Alam Zeb alias Huzaifa, Shakil Ahmed and Khalil Ahmed Toori.

Mirza said Khalil Toori is the brother of Qasim Toori, an activist of the Jundullah terror group who was arrested after a gun battle in Karachi in January last year.
Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Rabta Committee has expressed concern over the presence of extremists in the city.

The MQM, which is a coalition partner of the ruling party in the Sindh province and also holds number of seats in the Centre, said the government must pay heed to the growing presence of Taliban and other extremist elements in the city and take steps to protect life and property of the citizens.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain had been warning about the conspiracy being hatched by some elements in Karachi and Sindh for last several years to destabilise the province but no one took him seriously, the party said in a statement.

Senior police officials said they were hopeful that the interrogation of the arrested militants would lead to the arrest of more extremists hiding out in the province.