Four militants held for plotting sabotage

Four militants, who planned to blow up a major bridge in the commercial hub of Karachi, were arrested by the police as they were about to strike at their target, police said yesterday.

The four - identified as Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rehman, Kamran Sultan and Riazuddin - are the members of the outlawed Jaish-e-Mohammed - a hardline militant group which has strong ties with the Afghan Taliban and is also suspected of having links with Osama bin Laden's Al Qaida group.

Jaish-e-Mohammed is also one the major militant group fighting in Indian rule in the disputed divided region of Kashmir.

Shafi Rind, a senior police official, told reporters that the arrests were made overnight when the militants were about to strike at their target - the bridge on Malir river. Police seized several grenades and more than three kilograms of explosives from their possession.

Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar, freed from an Indian prison in exchange of Indian passenger plane hostages, is under house arrest in Pakistan.

Earlier this month, a court ordered his release, but the authorities have not yet freed him.