Punjab police arrested eight people in Rawalpindi suspected of having links to Al Qaeda and being involved in recent suicide attacks in the country, Interior Ministry Spokesman Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema told reporters Tuesday. “It’s confirmed that these people are involved in preparing bombs and other things helpful in carrying out suicide attacks,” claimed Cheema. He said the suspects were from banned religious outfits having links with Al Qaeda, the militants of South Waziristan and the tribal areas. “These people are not from the network we have been referring to over the last few weeks,” he said. He said the recent bombings in Pakistan could be linked to Al Qaeda, but the security agencies had no substantial evidence to accurately prove that the militant organisation was involved. The spokesman said, “We have no solid evidence to suggest that Osama Bin Laden is in Pakistan.”
He said the security agencies knew the people who were masterminding the bombings in the country but he would not name them for security reasons.