Plot to bomb Pakistani PM’s rally foiled

ISLAMABAD - A plot to bomb a public rally of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Pakistan’s Sindh province has been foiled following the arrest of two militants, an official said.

The prime minister addressed several gatherings of people and party workers in the country Tuesday to mark the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s 44th foundation day. In the evening, he reached Sukhur, where the public rally was to be held.

“Some terrorists belonging to a banned militant outfit had plotted to sabotage the rally with explosives and timer devices,” Dunya TV reported.

Police, acting on a tipoff, intercepted a goods truck that was coming from Peshawar. “Upon searching the truck, a huge cache of arms, including at least 12 Kalashnikovs and over 3,000 bullets, were recovered,” the channel added.

An official, on condition of anonymity, said that two suspected militants were arrested in the operation.

“They have revealed during initial interrogation that the plan was to target the public rally of the prime minister,” the official said.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik last week spoke of the arrest of two militants from Islamabad who wanted to carry out suicide bombings at parliament and other sensitive buildings, besides targeting important personalities.

Thousands of people have been killed in the past two years in various terrorist attacks carried out in retaliation to the massive crackdown launched by the Pakistani military in the country’s troubled northwestern tribal region.