International

Pakistani authorities have foiled a terrorist plan to target the parliament by arresting a would-be suicide bomber, interior minister Rehman Malik said today.

Malik told the Senate or upper house of parliament that the would-be suicide bomber was arrested at a security check post at Barha Kahu on the outskirts of Islamabad.

Subsequent investigations revealed the militant intended to target the parliament, he said during question hour.

Police recovered a suicide jacket meant to be used in the attack from a cave in the Margalla Hills, Malik told reporters outside parliament.

Asked if security agencies had uncovered who was behind the planned attack, Malik indicated that the Taliban based in the Waziristan tribal region were linked to the terrorist plot.

"As I keep saying, all the roads have been leading towards South Waziristan," he said.

Malik said security in all major cities, including Peshawar and Lahore, has been beefed up by installing hi-tech scanners and surveillance gadgets along key roads.