Islamabad: In a major breakthrough, Pakistan police today (Oct 20, 2004) arrested the alleged mastermind behind the car bomb blast on a Sunni congregation in Multan that left 41 people dead.

State run PTV quoted top police officials in Multan as saying that they had arrested Sayed Irfan Ali, the main accused in the case following leads obtained during the investigation.

Ali was reportedly arrested based on the information obtained from a temporary accommodation where he lived until the day of the bomb blast on October seven targeting the crowds, which attended the death anniversary of Azam Tariq, leader of a banned Sunni extremist outfit Sepha-e-Sehba.

Tariq was killed by unidentified gunmen near Islamabad last year.

Ali, along with others who are yet to be identified, had stolen a car, packed it with explosives and triggered the blast using a remote controlled device.

Police declined to identify the political affiliation of Ali saying that investigations were still being conducted.

The blast was seen as a part of sectarian warfare between banned Sunni and Shia groups. Last month a bomb blast ripped through a Shia mosque in Sialkot killing over 30 people gathered for Friday prayers.