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Pakistan says arrests 10 militants ahead of election


    KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistani police have arrested 10 Islamic militants in its biggest city, Karachi, who are suspected of planning terror attacks during next week's general election, a government minister said on Friday.

    "These militants were ex-members of different bannedmilitant outfits who had now formed a new group," Sindh HomeMinister Akhtar Zamin told Reuters. He did not say when the menwere detained.

    Karachi, Pakistan's commercial epicentre, is the capital ofSindh.

    Zamin said police seized explosives, electrical circuits,compact discs and other material from the militants.

    "They may have been planning to attack some politicalleader, or carry out other acts of terror during the election,and to destabilise the peace of the country," he said.

    Pakistan is scheduled to hold a general election on Monday,with many fearful of militant violence after a spate of attacksin recent months.

    The election, originally scheduled to be held on January 8,was postponed until February 18 following the assassination ofopposition leader Benazir Bhutto on December 27 in a gun andbomb suicide attack.

    (Reporting by Imtiaz Shah; Writing by Faisal Aziz. Editingby Simon Gardner)