Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani- origin American arrested in connection with the botched car bombing in New York, is the son of a retired air vice marshal of the Pakistan Air Force.
Pakistan, probably for the first time, has admitted that the failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad had links in South Waziristan, the strong hold of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday lauded the action of Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American arrested for a botched car bombing in New York, but said he had no links to the banned militant group.
Four men accused of involvement in the botched Times Square bombing carried out by Pakistani- American terrorist Faisal Shahzad in 2010 have been acquitted by a Rawalpindi court as the prosecution failed to prove its case against them. The anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani garrison city on Saturday acquitted Muhammad Shoaib Mughal, Muhammad Shahid Hussain, Humbal Akhtar and Faisal Abbasi.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has claimed that the Punjabi Taliban are preparing for a massive terror attack in the country.
The Pentagon leadership has strongly denied reports that it has pressurised Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani to extend the military's anti-Taliban operations into North Waziristan, in the wake of the botched Times Square bombing attempt by Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, who received terror training in that region.
Pakistan will probe alleged links between Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistan-American arrested for the botched car bomb attack in New York, and Taliban leaders based in the country's volatile tribal belt, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Saturday.
A Pakistani man, who inadvertently helped fund the failed Times Square bomb plotter Faisal Shahzad last year, has been sentenced to three years probation.
Tracking the ideological journey of Times Square bomb plot accused Faisal Shahzad has led the investigators to an interesting concept known as "jihad tourism," which has made Pakistan, the most preferred destination for people wanting to embrace jihad.
A New York man has pleaded guilty for operating a 'hawala' racket between United States and Pakistan, transferring funds to fellow Pakistani Faisal Shahzad, who used it for his botched car bombing plot at Times Square last year.
It what further strengthens the Tehreik-e-Taliban Pakistan's direct involvement in the failed Times Square bombing plot, a federal indictment released earlier this week has revealed that the extremist outfit had paid $12,000 to Faisal Shahzad to plot the explosion at the busy commercial intersection.
Terror suspect Faisal Shahzad has been charged with 10 terrorism and weapons counts in the botched Times Square car bombing in an indictment that also accuses him of receiving money and explosives training from Pakistani Taliban.
US military is looking at options for a unilateral strike in Pakistan if a successful terrorist strike on US soil is traced back to the country, senior Pentagon officials were quoted as saying on Saturday.
Top US security officials used an urgent meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to present a dossier on Pakistani-American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad, including his links with the Pakistani Taliban, according to a media report on Wednesday.
Pakistani authorities have taken into custody another six persons on suspicion of having links to Pakistani-American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad, arrested in the US for the botched Times Square car bombing.
The NYPD bomb squad risked their lives to dismantle a lethal assembly that turned the Pathfinder into one big hurt locker. While we can all breath a little easier, we have to stay vigilant. Because in the eyes of terrorists, New York is America, and they keep coming back to kill us
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani American arrested on charges of planting a bomb at the Times Square, has waived his right to a speedy court appearance, a top American Senator has said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation team, which had arrived in Pakistan earlier this week to probe the bungled Times Square bombing plot, visited several areas like Pabbi, Nowshera and Hassanabdal seeking access to Faisal Shahzad's father, former Pakistan Air Force Air Vice Marshal Baharul Haq.
Pakistani intelligence agencies have freed many suspected militants, including two Jaish-e-Muhammed operatives, who were arrested over alleged links with Faisal Shahzad, the American citizen of Pakistani origin who has confessed to plotting the bungled Times Square bombing.Sources said intelligence agencies have released most of the 20 members of various banned terror outfits who were apprehended to probe their links with Shahzad.
US officials are unsure if Pakistan will take any action against these India-centric terror groups based in Pakistan's Punjab province.
US and Pakistani investigators have questioned Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad's father and four men suspected of having links with the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed in connection with the botched terrorist attack.
The United States said it expected full cooperation from Pakistan in its investigations related to the Times Square bomb case, in which prime suspect Faisal Shahzad has told federal authorities that he received bomb-making training in Waziristan.
Pakistani authorities have detained two persons in Karachi for their alleged links with Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American who has been arrested in connection with the failed Times Square car bomb attack. Security officials, who declined to be named, confirmed at least two detentions but did not reveal further details. According to other sources, a person identified as Tauseef Ahmed was one of the detainees.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American arrested for the failed Times Square bombing, carefully selected his location as a highly populated target and intended to strike again if he was not caught the first time, prosecutors have said.
A Pakistani man arrested in Boston during investigations into the failed Times Square bombing on Wednesday sought to distance himself from terrorism and failed bomber Faisal Shahzad, whom he knew years ago as a 'typical college student who drank and partied'. Mohammad Shafiq ur Rahman, a 33-year-old computer programmer who was arrested on immigration charges, was freed on bail last week.Condemning terrorism, Rahman said what the Taliban is doing is "not justified by religion.
Tracking the ideological journey of Times Square bomb plot accused Faisal Shahzad has led the investigators to an interesting concept known as 'jihad tourism', which has made Pakistan, the most preferred destination for people wanting to embrace jihad.
"He (Shahzad) visited Pakistan seven times in the last few years and he met Hakimullah Mehsud and also met other people, (including) leaders of the Taliban," Rahman Malik told media persons in Pabbi town in the country's northwest.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American accused of trying to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square, told the court that he was pleading guilty because of the US occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq.
Two Pakistani men who were arrested for their alleged links to the attempted Times Square bombing in New York City have admitted to playing a role in the botched attack and are unrepentant for their actions. One of them angrily accused Pakistani interrogators of 'siding with the infidels', a senior intelligence official said. The pair is among six men officials arrested in Pakistan for alleged ties to Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American arrested in the United States.
The Pakistan government has detained a co-owner of an upscale catering company in Islamabad and at least four others in connection with the botched Times Square bombing plot for which Pakistani-American terror suspect Faisal Shahzad has been arrested in the United States, a media report said in Washington on Saturday. The suspects, including Salman Ashraf of 'Hanif Rajput Catering Service', were taken into custody following the May 1 Times Square terror plot.
Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American, accused in the Times Square bombing plot, wanted to fight in Afghanistan, alarming his father, a retired Vice Marshal in PAF, who sought help from friends to "manage" his son, a leading American newspaper has reported.
Pakistan has said that it has not made any formal arrest in connection with the Times Square terror plot, amid reports that an 'accomplice' of Faisal Shahzad, who allegedly carried out the botched bombing in New York, has been held. However, an investigation is underway into 30-year-old Shahzad's alleged links in Pakistan, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. "The US authorities sent us some questions regarding the issue and we are investigating the matter," he said.
Botched Time Square bombing plot accused Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-origin American, used the hawala system to arrange money in plotting the attack, a CBS News report claimed.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is a terrorist organisation, even if it has not been officially designated yet, a top United States official has told his lawmakers. The US now says that the Pakistani Taliban was responsible for the failed Times Square bomb attempt on May 1, in which a Pakistani-American, Faisal Shahzad, 30, has been arrested by federal authorities.
A man who allegedly helped terror suspect Faisal Shahzad travel to Pakistan's tribal belt to attend bomb-making camps was arrested on Thursday.The arrested suspect has admitted to being an accomplice of Shahzad, who was arrested at New York's JFK airport for plotting a terror attack on Times Square. He also has links with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.The latest arrest confirms the fears of the US administration that the Pakistani Taliban plotted the failed bomb plot.
"We've now developed evidence that shows that the Pakistani Taliban was behind the attack," US Attorney General Eric Holder told ABC television's Sunday current affairs talkshow This Week.
For a wannabe terrorist like Faisal Shahzad, accused in the Times Square bombing plot, shopping for help in Pakistan is no problem as the country is like a supermarket with money and weapons freely available for potential jihadists, says Newsweek editor Fareed Zakaria.
Pakistani intelligence officials are tracing links between Times Square bombing plot suspect Faisal Shahzad and banned terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad, led by Maulana Masood Azhar. This search has led investigators to the sprawling, marble-floored Batha Mosque and a religious school in a crowded neighbourhood of Karachi, which was once the provincial headquarters of the JeM and was visited by the elusive Azhar, who was released from prison in 1999.
Times Square terror bombing plot suspect Faisal Shahzad was a childhood friend of one of the alleged masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai massacre, a media report said, as US investigators traced his links to another Pakistani militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad.
'Anybody can claim anything,' Pakistan army spokesperson Major General Athar Abbas said. 'I do not think the Pakistani Taliban has the capacity to carry out attacks overseas because the army has destroyed their facilities.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances