Pakistan Prisoner Linked to Bin Laden

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan —  Authorities on Sunday began questioning a senior Al Qaeda suspect who they said was a close colleague of Osama bin Laden, after he was arrested and turned over to Pakistan.

Qari Saifullah Akhtar ran a key Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan and was the former leader of Harkat Ansar, a terrorist group banned by the United States in 1994. He is believed to have masterminded two assassination attempts on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in December and an attempt to kill Prime Minister-designate Shaukat Aziz in July.

Akhtar was arrested in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and turned over to Pakistan in recent days, said Pakistan Information Minister Sheik Rashid Ahmed. Akhtar is reportedly being questioned in the eastern city of Lahore.

Ahmed also confirmed the arrest of Fazlur Rehman Khalil, successor to Akhtar as leader of Harkat Ansar. The group has changed its name to Harkat Mujahedin.

The arrests are the latest in Pakistan’s escalating war on terrorists. In the last month, Pakistan has arrested about 20 suspects accused of working with Al Qaeda.

They include Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, wanted in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, and Pakistani computer engineer Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan.

Akhtar’s arrest is unrelated to the other arrests, the information minister said.

Khan’s arrest uncovered plans to attack financial centers in the United States, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.

Information from Pakistan also led to arrests in Britain, where there have been reports of a possible terrorist attack on an airport.

The Bush administration called Akhtar’s arrest significant.

It is “very important, particularly for Pakistan,” Frances Townsend, the domestic security advisor, said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“He’s wanted in connection with the two assassination attempts on President Musharraf. He was also involved in the training camps in Afghanistan,” Townsend said.

Asked whether Akhtar is believed to be currently operational, Townsend said, “Absolutely. Absolutely.”

Pakistani Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat called the arrest a major breakthrough in efforts to curb terrorism.

He refused to give any details, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ahmed said he could not spell out the charges against Akhtar and Khalil.

Pakistani officials said they believe Akhtar left for Afghanistan in 1996. They said he got close to Bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, both of whom visited the terrorist training camp that Akhtar supervised in Rishkor, Afghanistan.

About 3,500 men were trained in combat and clandestine tactics there, they said.

Pakistani authorities said that they repeatedly asked the Taliban to extradite Akhtar but the request was denied.

Akhtar was suspected of being with Omar when U.S. forces attacked Afghanistan in 2001. He later fled Kandahar for Saudi Arabia and finally found safety hiding out in Dubai.

He was captured after a recently arrested member of his group tipped off Pakistani intelligence authorities about his whereabouts, according to officials.

Pakistani authorities sought the help of United Arab Emirates authorities, who conducted a raid Friday night in Dubai, arrested Akhtar and immediately handed him over to Pakistan.

Akhtar is also believed to have masterminded a failed coup against former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1995, along with senior- and junior-level military officials. Some of the officers were sentenced to up to seven years.