Mastermind behind attack on Kazmi arrested in Pak

Pakistani police on Monday claimed the mastermind behind the recent attempt to assassinate Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi had been arrested along with several accomplices in Punjab province.

Pakistani police on Monday claimed the mastermind behind the recent attempt to assassinate Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi had been arrested along with several accomplices in Punjab province.

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Police officials were quoted by state-run PTV as saying that the mastermind and his accomplices were arrested at Rojhan and Dera Ghazi Khan in southern Punjab. They are members of a banned organisation and were involved in other criminal cases, officials said.

The officials did not disclose the name of the mastermind or the other arrested persons. Officials also did not give the exact number of persons arrested. Raids were being conducted to make more arrests, they said.

Police in Islamabad had earlier arrested six suspects in connection with the attempt on the life of Kazmi. The federal minister was injured and his guard and driver were killed when gunmen attacked his car outside his office in Islamabad on September 2.

Kazmi, who belongs to the ruling Pakistan People's Party, is a vocal critic of the Taliban and suicide bombings.