VEHARI, Aug 23: Two terrorists of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi carrying collective headmoney of Rs0.6 million were arrested here on late Thursday.

Close associates of Riaz Basra and Ejaz alias Jaji Tarer, they were involved in several cases of murder, dacoity and vehicle-snatching.

This was claimed by DPO Syed Javed Hussain Shah in a press conference at the SP office here on Friday.

He said the police on a tip-off raided their hideout near Chak 47/WB on the Vehari-Karampur link road, some three kilometres from here, and arrested them. They were identified as Muhammad Akram Sheraz alias Abdullah of Peoples Colony, Vehari, carrying Rs0.5 million headmoney and Muhammad Wasim alias Sardar of Railway Road, Layyah with Rs0.1 million headmoney.

He said after interrogation, police raided their hideouts and recovered a huge quantity of weapons, including four Kalashnikovs, 450 magazines, 15 rocket launchers, 30 kg bomb making material, 622 detonator bombs, 12 repeaters, two LMG rifles, 2,600 bullets. Five vehicles with fake number plates, a photocopy of time bomb making formula and a motorcycle without number plate was also seized, he said.

The DPO said the arrested terrorists were heads of the outfit in the Punjab after the death of Riaz Basra and Ejaz Tarer. He said Muhammad Wasim was a civil engineer and an expert in making bombs.

Both the terrorists, he said, were involved in several sectarian incidents in the Punjab, including the Bhakkar incident in which 17 Shias were killed, Bahawalpur church attack where 16 Christians, including a constable, were killed on Oct 28, 2001.

They were also implicated in kidnapping four UNO offi-cials from Jhang, murdering Siddique Khan Kanju, Ahmed Yar Khichi, Allama Nazir of Mailsi, former Bhakkar MPA Malik Ghazanfar, PTV Islamabad director Onn Muhammad Rizvi, he said.

They were also involved in killing a car rider and snatching Rs8 million from him in Ahmedpur Sharqia, the DPO said.

They were planning bomb blasts in the DPO office and Vehari Catholic church in revenge for killing their chief Riaz Basra and other accomplices in a few days.

Talking to newsmen, they made a clean breast of their involvement in sectarian killings and said that they got training from Afghanistan after the death of Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. They said they also took part in Afghan jihad after Sept 11 incident besides playing active role in the enrolment and fund raising for the organization.

They also admitted that they had murdered about 50 activists and leaders of the rival sect in various parts of the Punjab.