Pakistan's army does not believe the Pakistani Taliban were behind the Times Square bomb attempt as the insurgent group has claimed, a military spokesman said yesterday.
Relatives and friends of the Pakistani-American arrested in New York over the plot expressed surprise at his alleged involvement, saying he came from a respected family in a conservative part of the country and had previously shown no signs of militancy.
Faisal Shahzad, who grew up in Pakistan but left for the US at the age of 18, is accused of trying to detonate a car bomb in Times Square on Saturday. The 30-year-old, who was arrested on Monday night in New York, has allegedly told investigators he received explosives training in Waziristan, Pakistan.
In a video message on Sunday, the Pakistani Taliban said it carried out the attack, in what would be its first known strike outside South Asia. US officials quickly doubted the claim, but Shahzad's arrest and alleged trip to Waziristan have given it credence.
Major General Athar Abbas, the military's chief spokesman, said the claim should be “taken with a pinch of salt.”
“Anybody can claim anything, but whether the organization has that kind of reach is questionable.
In New York, US Attorney General Eric Holder said Shahzad had been providing valuable information to investigators as they sought to determine the scope of the plot to blow up the SUV last Saturday night in the heart of Times Square.
A court hearing was canceled on Tuesday in part because of Shahzad's continuing cooperation with investigators, but authorities said they had shed little light on what might have motivated him.
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