Terror bid at Pakistan parliament foiled, two arrested

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani security officials have arrested two suspected militants who were allegedly planning to carry out suicide attacks on the parliament building and a mosque in Islamabad.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed to the media that “two suspects have been arrested in a major crackdown by the security forces in the suburbs of Islamabad”.

We have received information from our sources and had already beefed up security and search operations, he said.

The suspected terrorists, Qasim Munir and Naeemullah, originate from Bannu district in (northwestern) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, he said.

One of them wanted to target the parliament building while the other was planning to carry out suicide bombing in a mosque in the red zone, he revealed.

For the ongoing Senate session, we only allowed media and parliamentarians while the visitors were barred, he said, adding: Entry in the red zone without proper identity cards has been disallowed with immediate effect.

The forces must be appreciated for completing this operation without any panic, he said, adding: Suicide jackets and other explosives have also been recovered from the suspects.”

Earlier, Malik chaired a meeting of the security forces in which he was briefed about the operation.

The Senate, the upper house of Pakistan parliament, was in session when the news about the attempted attack broke out.

The federal capital has been a target of Taliban and other militant outfits and several buildings, including the Marriott hotel, have previously been targeted.

(Awais Saleem can be contacted at ians.pakistan@gmail.com)