Army to carry out forensic testing of weapons seized in Karachi

KARACHI: Police in the early hours of Thursday handed over huge cache of weapons to Pakistan Army which was recovered from Karachi’s Azizabad area on Wednesday.

The weapons were shifted to the army's Central Ordinance Depot. It took five police mobiles and two trucks to transfer the weapons.

The army will carry out forensics on the weapons as the police lack the expertise to carry out forensics on heavy weapons such as light machine guns, sub-machine guns and rocket launchers.

According to sources, the weapons were not safe in the office of DIG West and have been handed over to Pakistan Army.

Meanwhile, a JIT has also been formed to investigate the matter. 

In what is being termed the largest weapons bust in the city’s history, police recovered a huge cache of weapons hidden inside a water tank in Azizabad.

Police said the weapons belonged to a political party and were intended to be used in a terrorist attack in the month of Muharram.

The weapons were taken to the office of DIG West in five trucks. Police said the weapons were seized after receiving information from a criminal in custody.

Additional Inspector-General Karachi Mushtaq Maher addressed a press conference and said police were gathering details of the weapons found in the house.

"Some elements residing in London in collaboration with RAW and South Africa group are involved. They were plotting to carry out a major terror attack on 9th or 10th Muharram," he said.

When asked by a reporter who the weapons belonged to, he said, "When I say political party, Nine Zero, Azizabad, I don't think there is much left to say. The area from where it has been recovered, it all points to one party."

However, both MQM Pakistan and MQM London are denying any link to the cache of weapons.