Intelligence officials launch massive manhunt

Lahore: Pakistani intelligence agencies have launched an extensive hunt for Matiur Rehman, 30, a militant belonging to sunni sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhagnvi (LeJ) after being informed by the Americans that the Karachi-based Al Qaida-linked extremist has been tasked to attack US interests in Pakistan.

According to well placed intelligence sources, American intelligence officials stationed in Pakistan have described Matiur Rehman as an emerging Al Qaida figure.

Pakistani authorities have already posted a Rs10 million (Dh610,000) reward for his capture. The sources said investigations into the March 2, 2006 suicide car bombing in Karachi that killed an American diplomat show Matiur Rehman as the mastermind of the attack.

According to the information passed on to the Pakistani intelligence agencies by their American counterparts, Matiur helped train thousands of fellow Pakistani militants at Al Qaida training camps during the late 1990s.

The Americans have described Matiur Rehman as extremely dangerous because of his role as a crucial interface between the brains of Al Qaida and its muscle, which is mainly composed of militants belonging to several Pakistani jehadi groups.

The sources said there is increasing evidence that the Al Qaida backed terrorist network in Pakistan is now increasingly relying more and more on local militants to provide logistical support and execute operations.

They added that certain Pakistani jehadi groups are clearly acting as subcontractors for Al Qaida by virtue of carrying out terrorist attacks on behalf of the outfit.

Since Al Qaida lacks a dedicated infrastructure to recruit militants for carrying out terrorist operations in Pakistan, they add, it uses informal networks with local militant groups to obtain logistical support as well as operational collaborators.

The American intelligence sleuths stationed in Pakistan strongly believe that the country continues to be a potential site of militant recruiting and training.