The US Treasury added to its terrorism blacklist senior al Qaeda official Umar Siddique Kathio Azmarai; and the Jamia Taleem-Ul-Quran-Wal-Hadith Madrassa (the “Ganj Madrassa”), a school in Peshawar that serves as a training and funding center for al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Taliban. Pakistani authorities arrested at least two terrorists during a raid on an alleged al Qaeda communications center in a Lahore suburb. Security forces claimed to have seized 100 tons of explosives and arrested 10 militants during a raid in Quetta. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was charged with the 2007 murder of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Prime Minister Sharif yesterday called for talks with the Taliban but said another option was “full use of force.”
