ISLAMABAD

Pakistan's anti-terrorism police said on Friday that they had arrested a senior leader of the global terror organization al-Qaeda and a close aide to its founder, Osama bin Laden, in northeastern Punjab province.

Aminul Haq, who was planning terrorist attacks in the province, was arrested on Thursday in Sarai Alamgir town of the Gujrat district, according to a statement from the Counter-Terrorism Department spokesman.

"Aminul Haq, a senior fighter of the global terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, was a close associate of Osama Bin Laden since 1996 and was involved in many terrorist activities," the statement said.

The name of the arrested terrorist is also on the UN's list of global terrorists, it added.

The arrest is "an important development in the ongoing efforts to combat terrorism in Pakistan and around the world," the statement said.