Pakistan arrested two suspected Al-Qa’ida operatives this week as the country was in the spotlight for links to terror attacks in Russia and Afghanistan, according to news reports.
Sharif Al-Ma’sri is an explosives expert who admitted to training Islamists in Afghanistan and is believed to have entered Pakistan through Iran, according to reports. The second suspect was arrested at a school run by a leading Islamic politician, Hafiz Hussein Ahmad, in a raid on the institution.
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The arrests come as the Al-Islambouli Brigades, a Jihadist group with alleged links to Pakistan and Al-Qa’ida, assumed credit for the downing of two Russian passenger jets on August 24, which killed 90 passengers and crew members. The group is thought to be behind the attempted assassination of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in August. An earlier attempt on his life was carried out in December 2003; Al-Qa’ida has been implicated in that incident.
Moreover, Pakistan has long been accused by the West and Afghanistan of training the Taliban and allowing its members to cross into Afghanistan through its border. The Taliban claimed responsibility for a deadly attack in Kabul this week.
While Pakistan has publicly declared its commitment to the war on terror, vocal Islamic groups and disputes between Shi’ite and Sunni groups have made it a challenge. Pakistan has been the target of several major bombings in recent months in addition to several assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf in the past few years.