Six Jaish men held over US consulate attack

Six Jaish men held over US consulate attack

from SHAFI BALOCH
KARACHI - The Anti Violent Crime Cell and Central Investigation Department of the Sindh Police have arrested six activists of a banned religious outfit who were allegedly involved in a bomb blast near the United States Consulate in Karachi earlier this year, sources in police told The Nation Friday.
A US consulate official and his Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide attack on March 2 when US President Bush visited India and Pakistan.
The sources said that the six accused were linked to the banned organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad and that police have also seized explosives from their custody.
AFP adds: Investigators have identified the suicide bomber as Mohammed Tahir, the official said requesting anonymity. “Tahir used to work with (outlawed) militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed and he was assigned the task by a person directly linked with Al-Qaeda,” a police official, said, while requesting anonymity.
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday congratulated police and intelligence agencies for the arrests. “Congratulating the law enforcement and intelligence agencies, the president emphasised that credit for this excellent work goes to the combined efforts of law enforcement and intelligence agencies for resolving this high profile case,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Shaukat Aziz also thanked the agencies for their “commendable achievement”, it said.