ISLAMABAD: Sources in the Interior Ministry said that a phone call made by a close associate of Hakimullah Mehsud planning an attack on the January 14 long march was intercepted, DawnNews reported.

Sources said that during the phone call, Mehsud's companion is heard asking another Taliban member for a car which would be used in a planned attack on Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran chief Tahirul Qadri's long march in Islamabad.

In an alert issued by the ministry, it was said that the Pakistani Taliban's denial of planning to attack the January 14 march was a lie intended to mislead the public and in particular Qadri.