Police claim key figure in al-Qaida-linked group is arrested

A senior figure in an outlawed Sunni Muslim militant group that has been linked to al-Qaida was among six men arrested last week in eastern Pakistan, a police official said today.

The main suspect was identified as Rizwan Ahmed, 28, head of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni organisation banned in 2001 over allegations that it was involved in killing Shiite Muslims, said Omar Virk, a senior detective in the eastern city of Lahore.