Pakistani police said they had detained at least six more people since the weekend as they hunted Daniel Pearl's kidnappers, and said they were chasing a senior leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is also blamed for a string of violent attacks in India. "There is a connection to Jaish in Pearl's kidnapping. This lead we got from the two persons detained last night in Karachi," a senior police official said.
Pakistani police detained two men in Karachi late on suspicion of sending e-mails containing photographs of Pearl. They said the trail quickly led to British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, also known as Sheikh Omar, a senior leader of Jaish. Omar, a graduate of the London School of Economics, is a close associate of Jaish founder Maulana Azhar Masood, one of India's most wanted men. Police raided Omar's house in Lahore, but the wanted man was not at home. Police say they believe Omar has been going under the name Imtiaz Siddiqui, one of three people named as key suspects in the case.
Well, ain't that interesting? One of India's most wanted 20, who's been living and working in Lahore while the Paks have been "looking" for him. Wotta surprise. And now all of a sudden, they can't find him for real. Azhar, on the other hand, is in custody, and if someone hits him very many times he might provide a lead or two.
Jaish-e-Mohammad has distanced itself from the kidnapping. ‘‘For sure, Sheikh Omar is our old colleague. But we haven’t had any contact with him for the past four or five months,’’ a Jaish official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. ‘‘Jaish has no link with the kidnapping. We condemn such acts (of kidnapping).’’
Oh, we know they'd never do anything like that.
Daily Jang reports that Rawalpindi police have arrested an Arab said to be involved in the kidnapping. Police along with the FBI was interrogating him till late in the night. Hannan Ahmad was reportedly directly involved in the kidnapping of Pearl and was associated with Jaish-e-Mohammad. During preliminary interrogation the Ahmad gave solid tips which could lead to the release of Pearl.
Could this actually be something of substance?
Jang also reports Karachi police chief Tariq Jamil said that information gleaned during "intense interrogation" of three men detained Tuesday night indicated that the kidnapping was the work of "a group and not a few individuals". |