KARACHI, Sept 19: Sindh IG Syed Kamal Shah acknowledged on Thursday the arrest of seven suspects of Harkatul Mujahideen Al-Alami and seizure of arms and ammunition from them.

At a press conference in the Central Police Office on Thursday night, the provincial police chief said the arrested suspects were wanted in the US consulate blast and the April 26 plan to assassinate the President on Sharea Faisal.

He rejected the impression that the suspects were about to execute a third plot to kill the President arguing that the arms in theirpossession were not in a staging state.

Describing Sharib as the group leader, Kamal Shah said a national identity card showing his identity as Asadullah was also seized from him.

He said Zubair, having several aliases, was initially arrested in Bahadurabad and his arrest led to the capture of Sharib in the same general area but a different spot.

The police chief described Zubair as a technical mastermind of their organization, as for the communication they used e-mails with coded massages. If the message by mistake went to a wrong person, he could not make a sense out of it, the IG added.

Referring to the recovery of arms and ammunition, Kamal Shah said the entire catch was not seized at one place but was found in different parts of the city during raids.

Speaking about their involvement in different cases, he IG said they were wanted in the US consulate bombing case, the April 26 conspiracy to assassinate the President, the Area-51 blast which took place on the eve of the new year, the Aga Khan flats blast in the limits of Pirabad and the McDonald’s blast, which occurred in a refuse bin.

He said during interrogation, the suspects revealed they had bought arms and ammunition in the tribal areas in the NWFP.

To a question regarding their alleged links with Al Qaeda, Mr Shah said so far the police had found no such evidence.

According to a handout distributed on the occasion, Sharib alias Asadullah was arrested near Rangoonwala Hall in Dhorajee Colony, and Hafiz Mohammad Zubair alias Farhan in Bahadurabad.

Third suspect Mohammad Taj was picked up at house number 314, Sector 8-B, Data Nagar in Orangi Town, and Mohammad Shamim near Denso Hall.

Mohammad Ismail was arrested in Shah Faisal’s Baloch Para, Abdul Munim in Al-Qureshi Little School, B-115, Iqbal Town, Nazimabad, and Maqsood Ahmed at Salam Clinic, 20/21 Roedad Nagar, Paposh Nagar.