Another 'Indian agent' arrested

A day after the arrest of five alleged Indian agents in the eastern Punjab province, Pakistani authorities yesterday announced the arrest of one more man in the port city of Karachi, accusing him of planning terrorist strikes at the behest of the Indian spy agency on election day – the ninth such arrest in 10 days.

Sa'alim Muqeem, 29, was arrested on Tuesday near Nishtar Part, Syed Kamal Shah, Sindh police chief told a press conference yesterday.

"Police have seized a map of the Nishtar Park (neighbourhood) and a camera from his possession," Shah said, while presenting him in front of the journalists.

Muqeem, wearing the traditional shalwar kameez appeared worn-out and exhausted. "I have been working for RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and was assigned to sabotage the polling in Karachi," he admitted.

Last month, the police arrested two Pakistani Hindus accusing them of carrying out deadly terrorist strikes in Pakistan. On Tuesday, the police announced the arrest of five more alleged Indian agents with explosives in Qasoor and Rawalpindi in the Punjab province, saying that they planned a series of terrorist strikes on election day today.

Shah said Muqeem, born in Mitthi in the interior of Sindh, belongs to a poor family and was in contact with Indian agents since 1993. Besides providing information to the agents of RAW, the prime Indian spy agency, he was also involved in smuggling, he said.

Muqeem visited India illegally to meet officials there at least 17 times, while Indian agents visited him frequently, he added. "He provided RAW with sensitive information and pictures of the army cantonment area and military installation of Hyderabad and Chorki."

Pakistan and India regularly claim arresting each others' agents. Islamabad blames India for sponsoring bomb explosions in major Pakistani cities, while New Delhi accuses Pakistan of fomenting violence, especially in the Kashmir region.

Shah said security has been tightened in the wake of the threat of terrorist strikes by the agents of RAW.

Authorities have declared more than 3,000 polling stations as "sensitive", out of a total of more than 14,000 in Sindh province, he said. "Out of them nearly 1,100 are in Karachi."

The army will also be on alert and could be called if needed, he added.

Most of the sensitive police stations fall under the jurisdiction of Karachi, he said. The government plans to deploy additional police and paramilitary rangers at "sensitive polling stations", he said.