The announcement in Pakistan of the arrest of al-Qaeda operative Abu Faraj al-Libbi on 4 May and the subsequent arrests of some 24 other alleged Islamic militants a week later have been described by Pakistani authorities as a significant breakthrough against al-Qaeda's operations in the country. However, detailed inquiries in the Pakistani capital Islamabad by Adnkronos International (AKI), have revealed that the arrests have failed to minimise al-Qaeda led operations and only intensified the group's terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Sources in Islamabad have revealed that as soon as the news of al-Libbi's arrest reached al-Qaeda and those who sympathise with the organization, there was an immediate reaction, targeting Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf.
Mushtaq Ahmed, who escaped from jail late last year after being convicted of a key role in the 2003 attempt to assassinate Musharraf, was one of those re-arrested after al-Libbi's capture. Interrogations with Ahmed revealed that he was set to launch a third attack on Musharraf's life. |