New Delhi: A large cache of weapons seized from last year's Lal Masjid operation has gone missing in Pakistan and that too from a police station in Islamabad.
The SHO of the Aabpara police station and 10 policemen have been arrested on charges of misappropriation of official weapons, reports the Dawn newspaper.
The mysterious disappearance of the weapons -- including Russian-made RPG and Chinese variant RPG-7 rockets -- has raised many questions. There are fears that they may land up with militants fighting in tribal areas.
Soon after the theft was reported, Interior Minister Rehman Malik ordered the suspension of Senior Superintendent of Police Ahmad Latif and Superintendent of Police Shahzad Asif.
He also ordered the registration of a case against SHO Inspector Naeem Iqbal and 14 other police personnel of the Aabpara police station, on charges of criminal breach of trust, theft and burglary, the news report said.
While the assault rifles, rocket launchers, anti-tank mines, grenades and a large quantity of bullets were found missing, nothing else seized by the police, including liquor bottles and jewellery was stolen.
No locks were broken during the incident and it is believed that duplicate keys might have been used to open the armoury located in the basement of the police station, the paper quoted a source close to the police as saying.
Over 100 people were killed when army commandos stormed the Lal Masjid in July last year after a prolonged standoff with Islamic radicals and militants holed up in the mosque and a nearby seminary.
(With inputs from PTI)
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