ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistani authorities arrested six would-be suicide bombers last week during a protest by lawyers demanding the reinstatement of sacked judges, a top official said on Tuesday.
They also seized a quantity of explosives and arrested several other people during the so-called "long march," Rehman Malik, the prime minister's advisor for the interior, told parliament.
"Authorities have arrested six suicide bombers during the long march," Malik said. "We have also seized some 45 kilograms (99 pounds) of explosives and arrested few people from Lahore."
Malik gave no further details of the plot to attack the march, which was called by lawyers and activists to urge the government to restore judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf under emergency rule in November.
The march ended peacefully in Islamabad on Saturday, with former premier Nawaz Sharif telling a crowd of tens of thousands of people that Musharraf should be made to "pay for his crimes."
"The government is not sleeping. We are doing our best to break their (militants') network and punish the culprits," Malik said on Tuesday.
Malik's comments come less than two weeks after he said that authorities had seized three massive car bombs headed for "sensitive installations" in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
Pakistan's new government entered peace talks with Taliban militants based in a troubled tribal region along the Afghan border earlier this year in a bid to end a wave of suicide bombings across the country.
Six 'suicide bombers' held during Pakistan march: official
ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistani authorities arrested six would-be suicide bombers last week during a protest by lawyers demanding the reinstatement of sacked judges, a top official said on Tuesday.
They also seized a quantity of explosives and arrested several other people during the so-called "long march," Rehman Malik, the prime minister's advisor for the interior, told parliament.
"Authorities have arrested six suicide bombers during the long march," Malik said. "We have also seized some 45 kilograms (99 pounds) of explosives and arrested few people from Lahore."
Malik gave no further details of the plot to attack the march, which was called by lawyers and activists to urge the government to restore judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf under emergency rule in November.
The march ended peacefully in Islamabad on Saturday, with former premier Nawaz Sharif telling a crowd of tens of thousands of people that Musharraf should be made to "pay for his crimes."
"The government is not sleeping. We are doing our best to break their (militants') network and punish the culprits," Malik said on Tuesday.
Malik's comments come less than two weeks after he said that authorities had seized three massive car bombs headed for "sensitive installations" in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
Pakistan's new government entered peace talks with Taliban militants based in a troubled tribal region along the Afghan border earlier this year in a bid to end a wave of suicide bombings across the country.
