ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced on Sunday the arrest of Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, the present chief of Harkatul Mujahideen and successor to Qari Saifullah Akhtar who had been detained in Dubai and handed over to Pakistan for his alleged link with Al Qaeda's top brass.

The minister said that although the arrest of Maulana Khalil was a local matter it was a significant achievement in the international war against terrorism. Harkatul Mujahideen was formed when Harkatul Ansar was declared a terrorist organization by the US in 1994.

Shaikh Rashid declined to give details about the detention of Maulana Khalil who is said to have been arrested by Punjab police. He said that suspects recently arrested by Pakistan's law-enforcement agencies were only planners, and not masterminds like Osama Bin Laden, the chief of Al Qaeda, Mullah Umar or Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

He praised intelligence agencies for achieving some very commendable successes over the past few weeks. Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat termed the arrest of Qari Saifullah Akhtar 'a major breakthrough' in international efforts to curb terrorism.

He would not say anything more about the suspect but an officer of his ministry said that Qari Akhtar was being interrogated by intelligence agencies.