Lahore: Police on Tuesday seized three tonnes
of explosives and a cache of weapons in this eastern Pakistani
city, the second such recovery in as many days in the wake of
a string of suicide attacks and bombings here.
Acting on a tip-off, police broke open a store on
Wahdat Road near Moon Market, which was targeted by terrorists
in December last year, and found 3,000 kg of explosives, three
suicide jackets, four grenades and four light machine guns.
The owner of the store, identified only as Sarwar, was
arrested and taken to an undisclosed location for
interrogation.
Police recovered 1,500 kg of explosives, five suicide
jackets, 1,200 bullets and a cache of weapons from a shop in
Iqbal Town area of Lahore.
"Terrorists used the same explosive materials in six
blasts in Iqbal Town on Friday and a suicide attack in Model
Town on March 8," Superintendent of Police Nasir Rizvi said.
"The terrorists were apparently storing the explosives
and weapons for a major terror attack. The seized explosives
and weapons suggest that the terrorists want to carry out an
attack on the pattern of the Mumbai incident," he said.
Today's seizure came a day after Punjab Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif said the Taliban should "spare" the province as
his PML-N party and the militants both opposed former military
ruler Pervez Musharraf and were against the dictation of
Pakistan's policies by foreign powers.
His remarks triggered a major controversy in the
country and were condemned by leaders of almost all political
parties.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 21:17