08-05-2010, 04:54 AM
The alleged would-be Times Square terrorist was disowned by the Pakistani Taleban yesterday as American politicians called for him to be stripped of his US citizenship so he can be tried by a military tribunal.
Faisal Shahzad — nicknamed the “Idiot Bomber” for a series of blunders leading to his arrest — was praised by a spokesman for the Pakistani Taleban but disowned in the same breath. “We don’t even know him,” a spokesman said.
In New York, an Emirates jet was held on the runway at Kennedy airport for the second time in four days yesterday, amid reports that another “no fly” passenger had escaped detection and boarded the aircraft.
As the White House increased pressure on Islamabad to investigate possible links between Mr Shahzad and a range of militant groups based in Pakistan, new details emerged of his movements before the attempted bombing and of the lonely life in a cheap suburban flat that he was apparently attempting to escape.
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Hours after Mr Shahzad allegedly left a Nissan on Times Square last Saturday night, the Pakistani Taleban appeared to claim responsibility for the failed attack in a video posted on YouTube.
Yesterday a spokesman for the group, Azam Tariq, told reporters in North Waziristan that “the job [Mr Shahzad] has done was a tremendous one and we praised him for this job but the fact is that we even do not know Faisal” (sic).
The spokesman claimed that his organisation had been framed for the attack. At the same time the Pakistani Ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, insisted that it was premature to link Mr Shahzad to Qari Hussain Mehsud, known as the Pakistani Taleban’s chief bomb-maker.
Having travelled to Pakistan with his wife and children and left them there, it is now alleged that Mr Shahzad surveyed the scene of his intended attack with care, but still made errors. He allegedly visited Times Square on April 28 in the Nissan Pathfinder that he would later pack with propane and petrol, according to sources involved in his interrogation. Two days later he left a getaway car nearby.
Investigators say that he was caught by a surveillance camera changing shirts as he left the Nissan on May 1. At about this time he realised he had left his keys inside the Pathfinder, including those to the getaway car, forcing him to take public transport back to his flat in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
He asked his landlord to let him in and drove back to pick up the Isuzu with a spare set of keys the next day. The car was found at JFK airport on Monday.
Pakistan’s co-operation in questioning Mr Shahzad’s associates and reconstructing his activities is seen in Washington as a vital test of its willingness to crack down on the of militant groups operating from Waziristan.
Faisal Shahzad — nicknamed the “Idiot Bomber” for a series of blunders leading to his arrest — was praised by a spokesman for the Pakistani Taleban but disowned in the same breath. “We don’t even know him,” a spokesman said.
In New York, an Emirates jet was held on the runway at Kennedy airport for the second time in four days yesterday, amid reports that another “no fly” passenger had escaped detection and boarded the aircraft.
As the White House increased pressure on Islamabad to investigate possible links between Mr Shahzad and a range of militant groups based in Pakistan, new details emerged of his movements before the attempted bombing and of the lonely life in a cheap suburban flat that he was apparently attempting to escape.
Related Links
Hours after Mr Shahzad allegedly left a Nissan on Times Square last Saturday night, the Pakistani Taleban appeared to claim responsibility for the failed attack in a video posted on YouTube.
Yesterday a spokesman for the group, Azam Tariq, told reporters in North Waziristan that “the job [Mr Shahzad] has done was a tremendous one and we praised him for this job but the fact is that we even do not know Faisal” (sic).
The spokesman claimed that his organisation had been framed for the attack. At the same time the Pakistani Ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, insisted that it was premature to link Mr Shahzad to Qari Hussain Mehsud, known as the Pakistani Taleban’s chief bomb-maker.
Having travelled to Pakistan with his wife and children and left them there, it is now alleged that Mr Shahzad surveyed the scene of his intended attack with care, but still made errors. He allegedly visited Times Square on April 28 in the Nissan Pathfinder that he would later pack with propane and petrol, according to sources involved in his interrogation. Two days later he left a getaway car nearby.
Investigators say that he was caught by a surveillance camera changing shirts as he left the Nissan on May 1. At about this time he realised he had left his keys inside the Pathfinder, including those to the getaway car, forcing him to take public transport back to his flat in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
He asked his landlord to let him in and drove back to pick up the Isuzu with a spare set of keys the next day. The car was found at JFK airport on Monday.
Pakistan’s co-operation in questioning Mr Shahzad’s associates and reconstructing his activities is seen in Washington as a vital test of its willingness to crack down on the of militant groups operating from Waziristan.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.