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Authorities "Confident" On Locating Al-Qaida In Pakistan
Source: NNIPakistani authorities are confident of getting very important information from the three foreigner suspects of al-Qaeda booked last week, about the presence of their other comrades in Pakistan. "We believe of getting some very important information during the investigations from these three suspects of al-Qaeda, a network of Osama bin Laden but cannot share the findings as it may effect ongoing process of interrogation," a highly placed source revealed to NNI here Wednesday. The investigators have been concentrating to know about those fugitives of al-Qaeda who have gone underground and looking for their hiding places in the country. Roughly translated, they haven't gotten anything yet, but they're still hitting them, and expect them to cough up something to make the pain stop. Meanwhile, real estate agents are picking up extra dough as the roaches scurry before the light's turned on... In two different operations in the last week, an Australian, recently Muslim convert, was arrested on January 4 and two other Arabic speaking were arrested on January 9 from a house in Karachi. The Australian has been identified at the official level as Jack Thomas, a taxi driver in Melbourne. However yet the official level identification of the two who were arrested five days after the first arrest is being awaited. It's been so long, they can't remember what their names were originally... When Asked Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, Chief of National Crises Management Cell of the Interior Ministry to tell if the operation was made on January 9 on a tip of Jack Thomas, he said, "I am sorry cannot offer any comment as I am not privy to it." We can probably assume it was... Jack Thomas, a 29 year of age, Australian was dragged down from an international flight bound to Hong Kong at Karachi International Airport by Pakistani authorities. Jack, who traveled to Afghanistan via Pakistan in spring of 2001, was booked under Pakistan Security Act on his alleged involvement in anti-state activities. He got training in the camps of al-Qaeda at Afghanistan during 2001 and shifted to Pakistan sometime in 2002. He is alleged of having very close links with Osama bin Laden. The two Foreigners believed Arabs were arrested in a pre dawn operation on January 9 in Karachi that was supervised by the FBI agents. One suspect of al-Qaeda during the operation managed to escape. Why do I still have the feeling that was Khalid? Dammit. The two foreigners identified themselves in the preliminary investigation as Abu Hamza from Yemen, and Abu Umar, an Egyptian citizen. Police had also arrested the wife and three small children of the man who identified himself as Abu Umar. However later both of them have claimed they are from Iraq and a Jordanian based Palestinian. The authorities have also recovered an Algerian Passport from their house of another suspect of al-Qaeda. "The presence of mukluks and a lava-lava in the house suggest they may actually be an Equimeaux and a Samoan, respectively..." The top questions of the investigators include whereabouts of Ayman al-Zawari, top leader of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden and another important activists of the network, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. It'd be nice if that Pakistani Interior Minister, Faisal Saleh Hayat yesterday said that the arrested suspects of al-Qaeda believed having close links with Ayman al-Zawahri, top lieutenant of Osama bin Laden. "These foreigners are being questioned about their linkage with al-Zawahri and also whereabouts of the same," Hayat said. The main agenda of investigation is to get the information from these suspects about those al-Qaeda activists hiding in Karachi, the source said. Ummm... Step outside, toss a rock, you'll hit one of them... The Interior Minister Faisal Hayyat said these two suspects of al-Qaeda have not been yet handed over to the United States "but are being interrogated by our own intelligence agencies." First the truncheons, then the giggle juice. It helps relieve the pain... Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-01-17 |
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