19 January 2004	Monday	26 Ziqa'ad 1424

KARACHI, Jan 18: Police arrested a man for his suspected involvement in the Bible Society bomb explosion which led the police to the recovery of a huge cache of bombs with detonators, parcel bombs, local-made grenades , remote control and other explosive material.

"We arrested Shamim Ahmed alias Shami, an activist of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi group in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on Saturday. He led us to an abandoned house in Junejo Town in Mehmoodabad where we found a large amount of explosives," a senior police official told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

He said Shami was believed to have been involved in the Bible Society bomb explosion on Fatima Jinnah Road, in which 14 people were injured. Two packs of 10-kilogram bombs were identical to that used in the car bomb near the Bible Society on Jan 15, he further said, adding that the house was being used as a factory of making explosives.

The sources said Shami was a close associate of Asif Ramzi, who was killed in an explosion in Korangi in December 2002. The police raided a place on information that an activist of MQM-H was hiding there in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. As the police raided the place, he (Shami) took out a grenade and warned the police of committing suicide. However, the police tactfully arrested him and put him in the lockup of Sharea Faisal police station.

At the time of filing of this report, the bomb disposal squad were examining the bombs and explosive material. The police high officials, including the Shah Faisal Town police officer, could not be reached for comments on the arrest despite repeated attempts.