January 19, 2002	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 4, 1422

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LAHORE, Jan 18: Seven suspected members of Al Qaeda, brought here on Thursday night, were shifted to Islamabad on Friday, sources said.

They said that the arrested men were taken to the Lahore airport from where they were flown to Islamabad. From Islamabad, they believed, the suspects were expected to be handed over to the US authorities for their shifting to US base in Cuba where the captured Taliban were being kept.

None of the senior officers of the Punjab police, however, was ready to give his version on the shifting of suspects. Most of the officers expressed their complete ignorance about the arrests.

A senior police officer, when contacted, curtly said: “No, we don’t have any information,” and hung up his cell phone.

Police sources, however, confirmed that the suspects were brought to Lahore after their arrest in Daodkhel, Mianwali. They were reportedly rounded up after their jeep hit a woman.

It was earlier reported that the suspected members of Al Qaeda, including four foreigners, had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan via Miran Shah in the tribal area.

Law enforcement agencies brought the suspects to Lahore and shifted them to the Chuhng Interrogation Cell. A joint interrogation team comprising officers from intelligence agencies and senior officers of other law enforcement agencies questioned them till late Thursday night.

Later, the sources said, the suspects were driven away to an unknown place.