MULTAN, June 13: The district police on Tuesday arrested six ‘terrorists’ who were allegedly planning to launch suicide and terrorist attacks on some religious gatherings. According to a press release of the district police officer (DPO), working on a tip-off given by an elite intelligence agency, DSP Habib Ahmed apprehend the “dreaded terrorists” from Basti Malook, a city suburb.

The arrested were identified as Nasir alias Kashif of Rahim Yar Khan, Riaz alias Bukhari, Qari Akmal, Qari Aslam, Jamil alias Chaudhry and Qari Hifzur Rahman alias Zaid, residents of Muzaffargarh district.

The press release said that the terrorists were trained to launch suicide and sectarian attacks. They confessed to having murdered at least seven people, including Bahawalpur DSP Kausar Abbas Gillani.

They also allegedly killed Gul Hasnain and Muhammad Ali Pahore at Mahmood Kot, Muzaffargarh, looted a cash van of Riaz cotton factory in Shujabad and shot dead three people for putting up resistance. They also killed one of their accomplices, Hidayatullah, for giving information to police.

Arms and ammunition recovered from the terrorists included 16 kilo suicide bomb, ammunition, detonators, explosives, suicide belt, hand-grenades, a kalashnikov along with two magazines, one 222 rifle along with two magazines and one 30 mm bore pistol along with 49 bullets.

Bomb-making formula was also recovered from them.

The DPO said that one of the terrorists had confessed to having abetted terrorist strike on Imam Bargah Madinatul Ilm, Karachi.

He claimed that the accused were plotting to launch attacks in south Punjab to avenge the Rashidabad massacre.—APP