Times Square Bomb Plot: Five Persons Arrested in Pak

In connection with Times Square bombing plot, a co-owner of an upscale catering company in Islamabad has been arrested along with at least four other persons by Pakistan, said media reports.

Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, is already in custody in the US in the case.

According to The Washington Post, Salman Ashraf of ‘Hanif Rajput Catering Service’ and four other suspects were taken into custody, reports said.

The Washington Post report followed a report of Pakistani news channel Geo yesterday saying that at least six persons were detained at different places across the country on suspicion of having links to Shahzad.

The post report cited a US embassy alert as saying that Americans have been warned about the ‘Hanif Rajput Catering Service’ as ‘terrorist groups may have established links’ to it, said reports.

The alert said that Salman Ashraf, arrested a few days ago, and his father Rana Ashraf Khan owned the company, however, it didn’t elaborate on its alleged ties to terrorists, reports said.

Rana Ashraf Khan, however, said that he was shocked by the news of the detention of his son who had been missing for the last 12 days, said reports.

The US warning said American government personnel had been instructed to avoid patronising the caterer, reports said.

The alert further said the US authorities had conveyed information about the caterer’s suspected terrorism links to Pakistani authorities ‘for their action’, said reports.

(Based on internet reports)