Rawalpindi Police have foiled a bid of terrorist attack, which may have caused huge deaths and destruction in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and successfully arrested three suspected terrorists with suicide jackets, explosives and other lethal arms.
The detained suspects were presented before the Anti-Terrorist Court, which sent them to Adiala Jail for identification parade on 14 days judicial remand. City Police Officer (CPO), Rawalpindi Rao Iqbal disclosed this, while addressing a press conference held here on Wednesday.
He said two suspected persons got of the bus at Chishtiabad blockade at Peshawar road in the jurisdiction of Westridge Police station. The suspects were identified as Rizwan Mehmood and Rizwan Abdul Qadir. During search two pistols and a hand grenade were recovered from them.
While on further information received from secret sources police raided a seminary 'Madrassah Arabia Taleemul Qura'an' in R A Bazar area and arrested another terror suspect Qari Sanaullah along with a suicide jacket and explosives.
Qari was arrested from the area adjacent to General Headquarters of Pakistan Army, where two deadly suicide attacks had been committed last year. The detained terrorists are close aides of Baitullah Mehsud, chief of notorious terrorist outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
In preliminary investigation the two detained suspects disclosed that they were involved in various terrorist activities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including March 16, suicide attack at Pirwadhai Morr in which 16 innocent people were killed and 25 others injured, CPO added. He said that two terror suspects Rizwan Mehmood and Rizwan Abdul Qadir belong to Chontra area of Rawalpindi division, while Qari Sunaullah belongs to Bara Kahu area, Islamabad.
The suspects also confessed that they had plan to attack the funeral prayer of deceased journalist Raja Asad Hameed in Rawalpindi but stringent security measures barred them from this strike, Rao said.
He said the suspects told police that they were busy in making planning of a massive scale terrorist attack targeting police and other law enforcement agencies besides sensitive government and defence installations.
CPO told journalists that there were many terrorists hiding in the seminary but they managed escape from the scene while a hunt was started to trace the escaping terrorists. He said that the detained suspects have confessed that they were taking revenge of Lal Masjid operation 'Operation Silent' of July 2007, in which huge number of male and female students were killed. Continuing further investigation the case police have announced general hold up in Rawalpindi and Islamabad to arrest the remaining members of the terrorist group, Rai Iqbal said, adding that the secret agencies have also started interrogations of the arrested terrorists.
The detained terror suspects Qari Sunaullah, Rizwan Abdul Qadir and Rizwan Mehmood were presented in the Anti Terrorist Court No 1 of Malik Muhammad Akram Awan, who sent them to Adiala Jail for identification parade on 14- day judicial remand.