Karachi, Sept 20: A Pakistani court ordered seven suspected Islamic militants held for interrogation today, pending their trial on charges they were hiding a huge stash of arms and ammunition.
The suspects were arrested in raids in this southern port city on Wednesday. Pakistani authorities say that the group's leader, identified as Sharib, was involved in the June 14 car bombing outside the US consulate that killed 14 Pakistanis, as well as a failed plot to kill President Gen Pervez Musharraf in April. However, preliminary charges against Sharib and the others make no mention of the suspected terrorist activity, charging them only with possession of weapons, including assault rifles, grenades rocket launchers and explosives. For now, the men face trial by a regular Pakistani court, not one of the special anti-terrorism courts set up to hand down quick judgments in serious cases, usually involving murder, kidnapping or other acts of terror.
The court granted police the right to hold the men until Oct 2, at which point police could ask for an extension.
The men are believed part of Harakat-ul-Mujahideen al-Almi, a domestic terror group that came to prominence after Musharraf's decision to ally Pakistan with the United States in the war on terrorism.
Five other suspected al-Almi members were arrested in pre-dawn raids in Karachi yesterday, and interior minister Moinuddin Haider said nearly 20 people associated with al-Almi are now in custody.

Bureau Report