Pak arrests deputy chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban

In a major catch, police arrested the deputy chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan from here and seized an explosives-laden vehicle that he was planning to use for a terrorist attack, officials said on Friday.

The suspect, Israr Amin, was arrested in Pakistan Town area of Islamabad by a team comprising police and intelligence sleuths late last night. Police were tipped off about the Taliban commander by another suspect.

Amin, a resident of Hangu district in the North West Frontier Province, had been living in a rented accommodation in the capital for the past two months. He was involved in supplying stolen vehicles to the Taliban for logistics and carrying out suicide attacks. Arms and ammunition were also seized from him, police said.

The arrested commander was described by police as an expert in rigging vehicles with explosives for terror attacks. Some reports said the vehicle seized from Amin was apparently stolen from the armed forces but there was no official word on this.

Officials said the vehicle might have been camouflaged to look like an army vehicle to facilitate an attack. The vehicle was to be handed over to militants for an attack on a sensitive installation in Rawalpindi or Islamabad, they said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Bin Yamin also confirmed the arrest. Amin was taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Officials said his brother was also in police custody.