Karachi: Key Taliban commander arrested

A key commander of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban, who was involved in number of attacks on security forces and checkposts in Swat valley, has been arrested in Karachi.

A senior police official of the Central Investigation Department (CID) claimed on Tuesday that the police had arrested Toti Khan, who is a senior commander and member of Tehreek-e-Taliban in Swat valley.

"Toti Khan was arrested from Ittehad town with a huge cache of arms and explosives and suicide jackets," SSP Omar Shahid told a media conference.

He said Toti Khan was involved in number of attacks on security forces and checkposts in Swat valley and had come to Karachi and gone into hiding.

"He is a known militant and was being hunted by the security forces in Swat. We got a tip off from some Taliban activists we had arrested in the city on Sunday," he said.

The Karachi police had picked up four activists of the Taliban and obtained judicial remand for them after presenting them in a local court today.

Karachi has so far been spared of the terrorist attacks and analysts say this is because the city which has a large population of immigrants from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) is a safe haven for many militants.