Pakistan arrests relatives of NY bomb suspect
KARACHI:
In the wake of the arrest of a US citizen of Pakistani origin in the United States, Pakistani law-enforcement agencies swung into action here on Tuesday and picked up two suspects a friend and the father-in-law of Faisal Shahzad.
The friend Tausef and father-in-law Iftikhar Mian were picked up by intelligence personnel from a house in Block N, North Nazimabad, sources privy to the development told Dawn.
According to the sources, Faisals immediate family, his wife Huma Mian and two children are also in Pakistan, but it could not be confirmed if his wife has also been detained.
The sources said that Faisal Shahzad had come to Karachi in 2009. He is son of Air Vice Marshal (retd) Baharul Haq, who retired in early 90s. Later, he got a senior post in the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and his family moved to Karachi, the sources said.
Air Vice Marshal (retd) Baharul Haq has two sons. The elder son is settled in Canada.
Faisal had been living in the US. His father lives in Hayatabad area of Peshawar.
Local police officials, however, expressed disassociation with the developments and said they had not received any orders in connection with Faisal Shahzad.
We didnt get any order, but at our end we have collected information which confirms that a young man by the name of Faisal Shahzad did arrive in Karachi in April 2009 and left in August the same year. We have received information that some of his relatives live somewhere in North Nazimabad and police are trying to locate the house, Capital City Police Chief Waseem Ahmed told Dawn.
Faisal Ali adds from Lahore: Police, with the help of intelligence personnel, picked up a few suspects from different parts of Punjab in connection with the recovery of explosives from a vehicle in New York.
Informed sources in the Punjab police told Dawn that the arrests had been made in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan assures US of full cooperation
The government on Tuesday assured the United States it would fully cooperate in the investigation into a botched terrorist attempt at Times Square allegedly by Faisal Shahzad, an American citizen of Pakistani origin.
The assurance was given to US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson who visited the Foreign Office.
However, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the US authorities had not made any request to Pakistani authorities about information relating to Faisal Shahzad.
We are receiving sketchy information about the suspect through media. Until and unless we are provided proper information through proper channels, I cannot verify the involvement of any Pakistani citizen in the New York attack plot, he told media at the Parliament House.
The minister made it clear that Pakistan would extend full cooperation to US authorities if they sought any help.
Let me reiterate the strong resolve of Pakistan that no one would be allowed to use Pakistani soil for terrorism in any part of the world, he said.
[B
]Mr Malik said the move could be a conspiracy hatched against Pakistan with nefarious designs.[/B] However, he said if any Pakistani was found involved in any act of terrorism, strict action would be taken against him.