The investigation officer of a case against five suspected terrorists arrested on the eve of Ashura submitted the interim charge-sheet on Friday to the judicial magistrate-III, Central.

According to the charge-sheet, the CID police raided a house in North Karachi on Jan 19 on a tip-off that the place was being used as a hideout where weapons and explosives had also been stocked.

Those inside the house opened fire at the police but were arrested after a shootout. Illegal weapons and explosives were recovered from the house.

The five persons arrested after the shootout were identified as Syed Mohammed Waseem alias Imran, Mohammed Aijaz alias Abdul Rehman, Jamil Ahmed alias Wazir Akbar, Mohammed Hamid alias Qasim and Aziz Ahmed alias Mohammed Khan, the latter allegedly being the would-be suicide bomber.

The suspects have been accused of planning suicide attacks in the Ashura procession which were to be taken out the next day. Four cases under FIR Nos.3, 4, 5 and 6/08) were registered against the accused under Sections 324, 353 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 13-D of the Arms Ordinance and 3/4 of the Explosives Act.

The court fixed Feb 14 as the next date of hearing and directed the IO to submit a final charge-sheet.

Meanwhile, the PPP Karachi leadership has condemned the kidnapping and arrest of Sohail Delhvi and other party workers.

PPP Karachi president Rashid Rabbani and general secretary Rafique Engineer said in a statement on Friday that MQM-backed Haq Parsat UC nazim Ismail Rajput, along with his colleagues, had attacked PPP workers with firearms in New Karachi on Thursday.

They also slammed the alleged kidnapping of the PPP candidate for NA 243 seat Zafar Siddiqui. They demanded immediate release of all PPP activists and arrest of the UC nazim and his associates in the attack.