A man considered a leading figure of the al-Qaeda network in Pakistan is being detained by the Pakistani intelligence agencies, Adnkronos International (AKI) has learnt from informed sources. However the same sources said that news of the capture of Ghulam Mustafa, alias Omar, alias Shahjee has not been shared with the US authorities as part of normal cooperation in the "war on terror". The fact that Mustafa was coordinating attacks in Indian Kashmir, in collaboration with the Pakistani military and secret services, may explain their reticence.Ghulam Mustafa was picked up in the city of Lahore by the Pakistani intelligence agencies about 10 days ago. It is Mustafa’s second arrest; he was also detained on 11 August, 2004 after his brother-in-law Usman was picked up for allegedly involved in plans for sabotage in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Ghulam Mustafa made a telephone call to Usman at that time and that was traced by the authorities to Karachi and he was eventually arrested.
During his interrogation, Ghulam Mustafa confessed that he was close to the al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, but refused to admit that he was ever been involved in any activity related to violence. He told his interrogators that his role was limited to financial and logistical support to al-Qaeda operations.
He also admitted that he was the sector commander at the Line of Control (LOC) that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan and had helped militants enter India from the areas of Bagh and Athmuqam in the Neelam valley. For this task he coordinated his assignments with Pakistan army officials of the Tenth Corps as well as the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) which is Pakistan's military intelligence service.
India and Pakistan have fought two out of their three wars over Kashmir. Delhi accuses Islamabad of funding and arming Kashmiri separatists, to support the insurgency in Indian Kashmir. Pakistan has denied these allegations.
Ghulam Mustafa's confessions that he was doing logistics for al-Qaeda while also coordinating with Pakistan's secret services in Kashmir were if not a surprise, certainly an embarrassment. The interrogators opted to remain tight-lipped about his arrest and formally handed him over to the police and registered a case against him for alleged terrorist activities. However Pakistan's anti-terrorist court eventually released Ghulam Mustafa in September 2005 after they found no proof of his involvement in any violence.
Sources now tell AKI that Ghulam Mustafa was picked up by Pakistan's intelligence agencies after they uncovered a conspiracy to kill Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf in December 2005. This led to a crackdown on those circles believed to be close to al-Qaeda, including the prayer leaders of the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz.
However, since Ghulam Mustafa has been involved in low-level operations in the disputed region of Kashmir together with the ISI, his real identitiy as al-Qaeda chief in Pakistan was not shared with the Americans. The sources add that Mustafa has instead been locked up in a secret prison, and no charges have been filed against him.