KOHAT, March 3: Intelligence personnel have detained a major of the Pakistan army, Major Adil Qudoos, who is described as an uncle of Ahmad Qudoos, who was arrested at the weekend along with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged Al Qaeda mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Major Qudoos was detained at his Cantonment residence here during the night between Saturday and Sunday, sources told Dawn.
“Only Pakistani agencies were involved in the operation and the major has been detained to confirm whether he has links with his nephew or Khalid Shaikh Mohammed,” the sources said.
A group of senior military officials went to the house of the major, who belongs to the 45 Signals regiment, and after introducing themselves carried out a thorough check of his house.
His wife and a daughter were secluded during the search, the sources said.
The major was asked to give details about Shaikh Mohammed as to whether he had visited Kohat in recent days or last year.
The wife of the major asked the raiding team where they were taking her husband and for what reason, when she was reportedly told that they would let her know after three or four days.
“There is nothing to worry about. We have orders from above to interrogate the major and search his house and he will be released within a few days,” the leader of the raiding party was said to have told Mrs Qudoos.
During the search, the telephone connection of the major’s residence was cut off and was restored after few hours. According to one version, he was being interrogated by a joint investigation team somewhere in Kohat, but independent sources said he had been shifted to Islamabad.
