Pak detainees’ proud of their link in failed Times Square bombing

ISLAMABAD - Two Pakistani men belonging to upper strata of society who were arrested for their alleged links to the attempted Times Square bombing have admitted playing a role in the botched attack and are unrepentant for their action.

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 US two days after the failed May 1 attack in New York, the Daily Times reports.

Details about the six were released late on Friday, though officials have not said when they were detained. Five were picked up in Islamabad and one is co-owner of a swish catering company that the US embassy said was suspected of having ties with terrorist groups.

The intelligence official, part of the team questioning the men, cited the two suspects as saying they did not do anything wrong and “proudly” described Shahzad as their friend.

The official said one of the suspects had even accused his interrogators of “siding with the infidels”.

One of the suspects, identified as Shoaib Mughal, is alleged to be a go-between for Shahzad and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in their hideouts close to the Afghan border.

He was running a large computer dealership in Islamabad before his detention, said the intelligence official.

The other suspect, identified only by his first name Shahid, is alleged to have helped arrange money for Shahzad. He has an MBA degree from the US and apparently knew Shahzad from his time there.

The other four suspects have also expressed their hatred for the West and the US, but have not admitted any links with Shahzad, the official said.

Shahzad is accused of leaving an SUV rigged with a homemade car bomb in New York’s Times Square on May 1 that failed to explode. (ANI)