The US pushed Pakistan on Thursday to investigate possible ties between the Times Square bomb suspect and the Taliban, US officials said, as the suspect provided more information to US investigators.
Faisal Shahzad, 30, who was born in Pakistan and became a US citizen last year, has been charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and trying to kill and maim people, as well as other counts.
Investigations in the US and Pakistan have uncovered possible links between Shahzad, the Pakistani Taliban and a Kashmiri Islamist group. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for last Saturday’s failed bombing and, if proven, it would be the group’s first action in the US.
US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson spoke to Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Thursday about the case.
“What we are doing right now is communicating to Pakistan that this is important and that we would expect them to take very specific actions as the investigation proceeds,” a US official said. “The political commitment by various officials is very important.”
If ties are found between the failed bombing and Pakistan’s Taliban, Pakistan could come under renewed US pressure to open risky new fronts against Islamist militants.
As authorities investigate Shahzad’s history, they found that he appeared to be an admirer of the fiery anti-US cleric Anwar al-Alawki, who is believed to be hiding in Yemen, and followed his Internet writings, but there was no evidence of any direct contact.
US Attorney General Eric Holder said Shahzad, who was arrested late on Monday, was still cooperating even though he has been advised of his US right to remain silent and right to a lawyer. Shahzad waived his legal rights and faces life in prison if convicted.
“Mr Shahzad is continuing to cooperate with us,” Holder told a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.
US prosecutors said Shahzad, the son of a retired Pakistani vice air marshal, has admitted to driving the crude homemade bomb into Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. He has also admitted to receiving bomb-making training in Pakistan, prosecutors said. A law enforcement source said investigators believed the Pakistani Taliban financed that training.
While Shahzad has said he acted alone, US and Pakistani officials doubt him.
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