Peshawar, Oct 22: Pakistani police today arrested six people in the northwest of the country and recovered a large weapons cache including hand grenades and Kalashnikov rifles, officials said. "Six people including one from Punjab (province) and five Afghans were arrested when they were trying to enter into the downtown area" of Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), a police official said. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "We discovered hand grenades, Kalashnikovs, pistols, Kalakov (rifles) and other sophisticated weapons from them."

"We are sure that these people were planning a sabotage activity," he said.
Police have launched an investigation and said it was interesting" that five of the suspects were Afghan and their alleged leader was a Pakistani from Punjab province.
The entire northwest and northern frontier of the NWFP borders on Afghanistan, and Pakistani police and security have frequently arrested suspected militants, as well as alleged members of the al Qaeda extremist organisation in the province.

Bureau Report