ISLAMABAD â The co-owner of a catering company that organized events for the U.S.

Embassy is among six men detained by Pakistan for allegedly helping the failed T
imes Square bombing suspect, a senior Pakistani intelligence official said Frida
y.
In a statement on its website, the U.S. Embassy warned that the catering company
was suspected of ties to terrorist groups and said American diplomats had been
instructed to stop using the firm.
Like Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American accused in the failed New York bombi
ng, the six Pakistani detainees were all members of their country's urban elite,
including several who were educated in the United States. One was a former army
major.
The suspects were part of a loose network motivated by hatred of America and the
West, the Pakistani official told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition o
f anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.
One of the men often traveled to the tribal areas close to the Afghan border whe
re U.S. officials have said Shahzad received explosives training under the Pakis
tani Taliban, the official said.
At least two allegedly helped Shahzad with funding, the official and another Pak
istani security officer said, although the exact nature of their link to the Tim
es Square bombing suspect was still being investigated.
The co-owner of the Hanif Rajput Catering Service, Salman Ashraf Khan, was recru
ited because two other suspects "wanted him to help bomb a big gathering of fore
igners" whose event his company was catering, the Pakistani intelligence officer
said.
He said a U.S. tip led to the first arrest â a computer engineer, Shoaib Mughal, w
ho runs a large computer dealership in Islamabad.
Mughal is accused of telephoning Shahzad soon after the failed May 1 bombing in
New York's Times Square and urging him to return to Pakistan. He also visited th
e Afghan border region several times to meet with top Taliban commanders, includ
ing Hakimullah Mehsud, and give them money, the official said.
In New York, two U.S. law enforcement officials close to the Times Square probe
said Friday that Shahzad told U.S. investigators he received financial support f
rom the Pakistani Taliban for the failed bombing.
U.S. authorities believe money in the U.S. was channeled through an underground
money transfer network known as "hawala." However, investigators don't believe a
nyone in the U.S. who provided money knew what it was for, said the officials, w
ho spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.
Several of the suspects arrested in Pakistan were educated in the United States.
A biography on the website of the Hanif Rajput Catering Service said company co-
owner Salman Ashraf Khan attended college in Houston before returning home to he
lp run his family's business. The company founder is his father, Rana Ashraf Kha
n.
"I am shocked at what I am hearing," Rana Ashraf Khan told the AP in an intervie
w on Friday.
He said his son was a devout Muslim who went to the United States in 1997, first
to study hotel management in Florida and then to Houston, where he majored in c
omputer science.
"If there is any suspicion about my son of some links, put him on trial, but do
not blame my company for involvement in this kind of heinous crime," Rana Ashraf
Khan told a local TV station.
The catering company works for foreign embassies and many of Pakistan's wealthie
st companies and individuals. The website features inspirational quotes by baske
tball star Larry Bird and poet John Keats.
The U.S. Embassy warning about the company was e-mailed to all Americans registe
red with the embassy under rules that require threat information to be shared wi
th the wider American community, said Rick Snelsire, an embassy spokesman.
It was unclear when the six suspects were arrested. All but one was picked up in
the capital, Islamabad, said the intelligence official, who was involved in the
interrogations.
He said one suspect had an MBA from the United States and knew Shahzad from his
time there. He was working for a cell phone service provider in Pakistan at the
time of his arrest.
Also picked up was a former army major and his brother, a computer engineer, the
official said. He said investigators had yet to determine what role the major a
nd his brother had played in the botched bombing.
The suspects are believed to be in the custody of Pakistan's intelligence agency
, which has been known to hold people for months â if not years â without trial. It
cooperates closely with the CIA, which is often given access to detainees.
Shahzad is accused of leaving an SUV rigged with a homemade car bomb in New York
's Times Square on May 1 that failed to explode. The 30-year-old was born in Pak
istan and moved to the United States when he was 18. The son of a former air for
ce officer, he led a privileged life. He has family roots in the northwestern ci
ty of Peshawar and grew up in at least one other city, Karachi, relatives and of
ficials have said.
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On the Net:
http://www.hanifrajput.com/