Law enforcement agencies have arrested two more Al Qaeda suspects for a suicide attack on prime minister in-waiting Shaukat Aziz, intelligence sources told Daily Times. Three Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) members were also booked in Faisalabad on Monday for alleged links with Al Qaeda, Online reported.
| Ouch! I just banged my head! That really made me sit up. Usually they don't specifically identify them as being MMA... |
"Muhammad Shafiq and Abu Hamza have been arrested from a hideout in North Cantt in Lahore," sources told Daily Times. Jaish e-Muhammad activist Muhammad Adnan, who was arrested from Jauharabad near Khushab a couple of days ago, pointed out their hideout. Shafiq is said to be Taliban leader Mulla Omar's close aide while Hamza is an Al Qaeda member from Myanmar. "Both of them fled Wana in South Wazirastan Agency after the Pakistan Army launched an-terrorist operation there," sources said.
| Kinda like turning on a light and watching the cockroaches scurry... |
Investigators believe that both of them had strong links with the people who masterminded the attack on Mr Aziz in Fatehjang in Attock from where he is contesting a by-election to become Pakistan's prime minister. Three cell phones and thousands of US dollars were seized from them.
| Check those phone records, guys... |
Meanwhile, the Punjab Elite Force and Faisalabad police arrested Qari Obaidullah Gurmani, Qari Noor Muhammad and Qari Imam Din from Mubarak mosque near Gao Shala Mor in Faisalabad. Gurmani is the MMA president from Faisalabad, while Noor and Imam Din are prayer leaders of the mosque. MMA supporters protested the arrests and demanded the government provide evidence of their links with Al Qaeda. The police did not comment on the arrests. Interior Minister Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat told the National Assembly last week that some Al Qaeda members were arrested from MMA offices. The MMA denied any links with the Al Qaeda network.
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