Islamabad: Security was tightened across Pakistan on Tuesday following an intelligence warning that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud had sent 20 foreign militants, most of them Uzbeks, to carry out terror strikes in major cities.
The move came after a suicide bomber struck at an office of the Special Branch of police in Islamabad on Monday night, killing a policeman and injuring five others.
Officials said there could have been more casualties if the bomber was not stopped at the gate of the office.
The intelligence agencies had warned that terrorists could strike in Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi and other major cities, a senior police official told the Dawn newspaper.
Adequate protective measures had been put in place, security around police installations had been tightened and patrolling had been increased.
Vehicles and people are being randomly checked in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, he added.
Police teams are also checking hotels and had rounded up 36 “suspicious” people. A total of 79 motorbikes, 19 cars and two rickshaws have also been impounded, the police official said.
Police have also arrested 20 people on charges of committing crimes and seized weapons from them, he added.
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