Pak police arrest 46 terrorists plotting attacks on key areas

A total of 46 terrorists, who were planning attacks on Pakistan's Parliament, offices of intelligence agencies and other key facilities, have been arrested from across the capital city, including various seminaries, a top police official said today.

These terrorists came to the capital from different parts of the country and were arrested during the past six months, Islamabad police chief Kaleem Imam told the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Interior. He said they were planning attacks on Parliament, offices of intelligence agencies, MPs, the National Defence University and other sensitive areas.

Most of the terrorists were arrested from seminaries in the capital, he said and called for an effective mechanism for monitoring the activities of madrassas in Islamabad. Referring to last week's bid to assassinate Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi, Imam told the committee that the bodyguard assigned to the minister foiled the attack by shooting back on the assailants.

The investigation into the attack is progressing in the right direction as police have obtained some leads from suspects they had arrested, he said. All federal ministers will soon be provided a special
security squad for their safety, Imam told the parliamentary panel.