BBC:-
Mr Shahzad, 30, became a naturalised US citizen on 17 April 2009.
Sources have told the BBC that he is the son of retired Air Vice Marshal Bahar-ul-Haque, a former head of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, but this is unconfirmed.
He was a little bit strange. He didn't like to come out during the day
Brenda Thurman, former neighbour
His family is said to come from the northern frontier city of Peshawar, close to the strongholds and training grounds of the Taliban.
Mr Shahzad married there two years ago, the sources added. His wife and at least one of their two young children are currently believed to be living in Karachi with relatives.
Pakistan's Interior Minister, Rehman Malik, told the BBC that Mr Shahzad had made eight to 10 visits in the past seven years, and had travelled to several locations including Karachi and Peshawar.
His most recent visit to the country was in early February.
The minister said there was no evidence at this stage that Mr Shahzad had links to militants, but added that investigations were just beginning.
Mr Malik also said there had been no arrests so far in Pakistan, contradicting local media reports that said Mr Shahzad's father-in-law and another man who spent time with him had been detained.
Guardian:-
In Pakistan, intelligence officials said several people had been detained in connection with the Times Square case.
Shahzad admitted to receiving bomb-making training in Waziristan, the lawless tribal region where the Pakistani Taliban operates with near impunity, but there is no mention of al-Qaida in the complaint filed in Manhattan federal court.
National Post:-
Shahzad was born in Karachi, Pakistan’s financial capital, and later moved to the United States. He became naturalized as a U.S. citizen on April 17, 2009. Mr. Shahzad reportedly returned to Pakistan between July and August 2009, and traveled to Peshawar, a gateway town to areas where the Pakistan army and the Taliban are engaged in conflict.
Not much is known about Shahzad, although officials said some members of his family still reside in North Nazimabad, a middle class suburb of Karachi. The BBC is publishing unconfirmed reports that he is the son of retired Air Vice Marshal Bahar-ul-Haque, a former head of Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. The Associated Press reports that Shahzad recently returned from a five-month trip to Pakistan, where he may have a wife. According to Reuters, Shahzad received militant training in northwest Pakistan near the garrison town of Kohat, which is a stronghold of Tariq Afridi, the Pakistani Taliban commander in the region.
According to a Karachi security official, Pakistani police arrested several people Tuesday — including family members and a friend of Shahzad — in connection with the car bombing attempt.
CNN:-
Shahzad's father is a retired senior officer in the Pakistani Air Force, Shahzad's cousin, Kafayat Ali, said Tuesday.
The father, Bahar Ul Haq, a former air vice marshal, lives in the Peshawar suburb of Hayatabad in what is now Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, formerly the North West Frontier Province.
"This is certain, that these people, they never indulged in any criminal activities," Ali said. "Not a family member. Not the village from which both of these people belongs, none of the village members involved in any criminal activities or any jihad activities."
Shahzad also has a brother named Amir who lives in Canada, a police source said.