KARACHI, April 3: Crime Investigation Department announced on Sunday arrest of five activists of a sectarian organization, Baquiatullah, an off-shoot of the banned Tehrik-i-Jaffaria Pakistan, and seized a huge quantity of weapons.

CID DSP Raja Umer Khattab told reporters that the suspects had escaped after an encounter with police near Ancholi in Federal ?B? Area a few days ago.

He said a car was intercepted on the Mai Kolachi Road on Saturday night with the help of sensitive agencies.

Three men, Muzaffar Ali alias Baloch, Mustafa Kirmani and Asghar Ali, were arrested when weapons were found in the car.

The three led police to their hideouts from where Shujaat Ali and Raza Ali were arrested.

Mr Khattab said that Baquiatullah had been formed in the mid-90s by Muzaffar Kirmani who was later killed. After his death, the command of the organization was taken over by his brother Mustafa Kirmani who was arrested in the operation on Saturday night.

Some other members of the group, including Imtiaz Jafri, Abbas Ali Ashur and Ali Raza Farishta, had been arrested earlier, he added.

The DSP said that a major subversive activity had been averted in the city with the recovery of the huge quantity of weapons.

The weapons seized included 10 RPG-7 rockets with chargers, eight Kalashnikov rifles, one .22 rifle, four pistols, 10 M-46 grenades, 40 HE-36 grenades, five green Russian-made grenades, several magazines and bullets.

He said the suspects had been wanted in four cases registered in Gulbahar, Khwaja Ajmer Nagri and Buffer Zone police stations, relating to the killing of 25 people, including activists of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan.