By NNN-PTI
Karachi : Pakistan police have arrested five militants, including two suspected suicide bombers, who were planning to unleash havoc during Muharram congregations in the southern port city of Karachi.
Claiming to have averted a “major catastrophe”, Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi told reporters Saturday that they had also recovered some quantity of potassium cynide from the militants who belong to the banned Harkat-e-Jihad-ul-Islami outfit.
“The idea was apparently to use this deadly poisonous chemical in the water (sabeels) used by participants of the Muharram processions,” he said.
Police recovered suicide jackets and heavy explosives from the five who were arrested from the suburbs of Karachi amid a countrywide red alert following fears of terrorist attacks during Muharram.
Intelligence agencies have also warned of 11 suspected suicide bombers that have entered the Pakistani capital and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi to target politicians and sensitive installations during the period.
Police are investigating possible Al-Qaeeda links of the five militants and raids are being conducted to arrest their accomplices in different parts of the country.
“A lot of time we get information about possible attacks which is not substantial but this time we carried out a successful raid and I think we have prevented a major catastrophe in the city during Muharram,” the police chief said.