LAHORE : Five members of the banned Lashkar-i- Jhangvi militant outfit have been arrested in two separate incidents from Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Two members, including a woman, of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ) group were arrested from Faisalabad district, some 130 kilometres from here, Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) senior officer Umer Virk said yesterday.
“The suspects – Rizwan and Marya Bibi – were wanted in a blast at Imam Bargah (worship place of minority Shia),” Virk said, adding the two were also planning to carry out attacks in Lahore before they were caught from a remote area of Faisalabad.
In another incident, police in collaboration with the intelligence agencies have arrested three more members of LeJ after a raid in Lahore’s Batapur border area yesterday.
The members have been identified as Qari Mushtaq, Asim Umar and Jameel Muawiya.
“The five arrested terror suspects have also links with Al-Qaeda,” Virk said.
The suspects have been shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
LeJ had joined hands with Tahreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Al-Qaeda to target Shia community in Pakistan. The group claimed to have killed thousands of Shias across the country since its formation in 1996.
The group has a strong hold in southern part of Punjab.
According to an intelligence report, there are at least 150 sleeper cells of LeJ in Punjab.
Pakistan has announced to take action against the members of banned outfits involved in terror activities after the horrific Taliban militants’ attack on an army-run school in Peshawar last month killed 150 people, mostly children. (AGENCIES)
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