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.
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.
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