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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistani Police Nab Alleged Militants |
| 2003-01-23 |
| Pakistani police arrested four suspected members of an outlawed Islamic militant group in pre-dawn raid Thursday, and they said the men were part of a cell waging war on Westerners and minority Christians. Police also seized five hand grenades and four assault rifles during the raid in the eastern city of Lahore, said Interior Ministry spokesman Iftikar Ahmad. "So far we know that they belong to Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and have close links with Jaish-e-Mohammed," Ahmad told The Associated Press. He said the men were part of a cell carrying out what they consider a holy war against Westerners and Christians in Pakistan. There have been a number of attacks on Westerners and minority Christians since President Gen. Pervez Musharraf allied his majority Muslim nation with the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks. Musharraf banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, but it has re-emerged under the name Jamat-ud-Dawat. Pakistan security agencies working closely with FBI have arrested scores of Taliban, al-Qaida men and alleged associates of domestic terrorist organizations in the recent months. However, Ahmad said no foreign intelligence agency was involved in Thursday's operation. The police officials in Lahore declined to give details of the raid. But security officials familiar with the arrests said the men had received training at camps of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed -- two anti-Indian Islamic militant groups outlawed by Musharraf after the Sept. 11 attacks to purge the country of extremism and terrorism. The latest arrests came a day after a team of French investigators arrived in Pakistan to hold talks about the May 8, 2002 suicide attack in Karachi that killed 11 French engineers and three others. Pakistani police have detained several militants for their role in the killings and at least two key suspects have admitted their role in the attack. |
| Posted by:Steve |