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Weapons seized from Lal Masjid stolen

ISLAMABAD: In July 2007, after commandos of the Pakistan Army took control of the Lal Masjid in the capital after a week-long battle with militants, the weapons they found there filled a whole room of the bullet-ridden mosque.

Journalists, who were taken on a tour of the mosque after the operation, were shown the weapons that included machine guns, ammunition rounds, all manner of improvised explosives, grenades, rocket launchers and even gas masks.

The seizure raised important questions about how such a large quantity of arms had been transported through the high-security capital into the mosque.

As it turns out, the weapons are now back in circulation. A red-faced government has ordered an enquiry into the theft of the entire lot from a police station over the weekend.

More than a dozen police officials have been suspended, including the area senior superintendent of police and the superintendent. Some of the suspended police officers have been charged with criminal breach of trust, theft and burglary and arrested.

Dawn reported that the arms were stored in the armoury of the Aabpara police station which has the responsibility for Lal Masjid. But no locks were broken, indicating that duplicate keys were used to open the armoury located in the basement of the police station.

The stolen weapons include 47 small machine guns, three light machine guns and several Ak-47 rifles.

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