Police have arrested three members of the banned Harkatul Mujahedin al-Almi group, and seized three pistols and a hand grenade. The suspects included Khizar Jamal, who has Rs 500,000 bounty on his head, and his accomplices Mohammad Haris and Sharjeel, police said on Friday. The group was thought to be responsible for the June 2002 bombing outside US Consulate in Karachi which killed 12 Pakistanis. Meanwhile, police have detained more than 50 people in a crackdown on Islamic extremists following the suicide bombing at a religious gathering earlier this month which killed 57 people, an official said. The detainees include hardline members of both Sunni and Shia radical groups, Sindh provincial government spokesman Salahuddin Haider said. “Around 50 people from different Islamic groups have been detained, some of them for questioning in relation to the April 12 Nishtar Park attack,” he said. “Investigators are moving fast. They may have found some lead before they decided to round up suspects for questioning.”
Karachi police chief Niaz Siddiqi said there had not been any arrests in connection with the bombing, but that many people were being questioned. Earlier, police announced the arrest of four members of the banned Hizbut Tahrir group for printing hate material. Authorities in Karachi seized pamphlets, sealed a printing press and arrested its owner, suspected group member Arshad Salim, police officer Mohammad Boota said. Three other group members, Shahid Mohammad Sheikh, Syed Munawar Saleh and Amir Ahmed, have also been detained, he said. “They have been arrested under anti-terrorism act for printing material creating hatred against the state,” he said. The group blames President Pervez Musharraf for victimising Islamic groups.