Pak to cooperate in NY probe

Times Square plot: Suspect had travelled to Karachi in 2009

William K Rashbaum, Mark Mazzetti and Peter Baker, New York, The New York Times:,

May 04 2010, 21:03 ist
updated: May 04 2010, 21:12 ist

Pedestrians surround two mounted police officers in Times Square, New York City, on Monday. AFP
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Shahzad stayed in Karachi during that period.

A senior Pakistani security official whose organisation works closely with American officials said the Americans had yet to share details of the case with Pakistanis. He said the investigation would depend on where Shahzad is believed to have travelled after reaching Pakistan. Some reports said Shahzad travelled to Peshawar.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday that his country would cooperate with American officials as they continued their investigation, Reuters reported.

Car deal

US authorities began focussing on Shahzad after they tracked the sport utility vehicle to its previously registered owner in Bridgeport, Connecticut, who had advertised it for sale on several websites. The former owner said the buyer paid cash, and the sale was handled without any formal paperwork.

The former owner told investigators that it appeared the buyer was of Middle Eastern or Hispanic descent, but could not recall his name.

The authorities have been exploring whether the man or others who might have been involved in the attempted bombing had been in contact with people or groups overseas, according to federal officials.

Officials cautioned that the investigation of possible international contacts did not mean they had established a connection to a known terrorist group.

Reclusive couple

Early on Tuesday, at Shahzad’s former home in Shelton, just outside Bridgeport, a neighbour said that Shahzad and his wife, Huma Mian, spoke limited English, and kept mostly to themselves. The couple had two young children, a girl and a boy, said the neighbour, Brenda Thurman. Thurman said the couple had lived at the house at 119 Long Hill Avenue for about three years before moving out last year. Shahzad left around May and his wife followed about a month later. Thurman said Shahzad got up early every morning and left to work nicely dressed, and had told her that he worked on Wall Street.