Thaindian News

By Awais Saleem
Islamabad, Oct 19 (IANS) Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had extended financial support to Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American who attempted to bomb Times Square in New York in May, a court was informed.

The revelation has been made by Islamabad police in their investigation report following the arrest of three suspects - Hunbal Akhtar, Muhammad Shoaib Mughal and Mohammad Shahid Hussain - more than a month ago.

The report has been submitted to an anti-terrorism court’s Special Judge Malik Mohammad Akram Awan, who is to hear the case Oct 26.

The report established that “the three men had links with Faisal Shahzad in the US, who was arrested from the JFK Airport while trying to board a flight to Dubai a couple of days after the bombing attempt”.

The investigators, in their report, said the “three men used to visit TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud, and Shoaib allegedly also allowed Faisal Shahzad and three other suicide bombers to stay at his home for one week”.

The police also tracked the names of some suicide bombers who carried out terrorist activities within Pakistan, with the help of these three suspects.

“The name of one of the bombers was Qaiser Mehmood and another was identified as brother of Qari Hussain (TTP trainer of suicide bombers) while the third one was unknown.”

“Later, the men who stayed at the house of Shoaib carried out suicide attacks in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir,” the police report said.

Police arrested the three from Islamabad highway in September while their two other accomplices, Faisal and Faheem, managed to escape. A laptop and maps of important buildings, including Parliament House, were also recovered from them.

The accused in their statement before a magistrate have confessed that they provided $43,000 to Faisal Shahzad for carrying out the attack in Times Square.

Police have obtained recording of conversation between the accused and Faisal and have asked the court to convict the accused for abetting and carrying out terrorist activities within and outside the country.

A court in the US in early October sentenced Shahzad to life in prison.

Shahzad, 31, was arrested two days after his May 1 attempted bombing with an improvised bomb packed into the back of an SUV.

(Awais Saleem can be contacted at ians.pakistan@gmail.com)