MULTAN, May 20: Police have arrested three people for their alleged links with the Al-Qaeda network. Sources said that Ali Sher and Hafiz Ijaz of Multan and Pir Jameel of Kayyah district were arrested from outskirts of the city. Ali Sher is said to be a veteran fighter and had taken part in Kashmir and Afghan jihads and was known among the Jihadi ranks with the code names of Ameer Hamza and Waqas. He received military training at the camps of Hizbul Mujahadeen and later joined militants in held Kashmir and Afghanistan.

The sources said that he returned to Multan from Afghanistan in 2003 and after a sometime left for Wana, South Waziristan Agency.

In Wana, he reportedly joined militant groups of Abdul Rehman alias Canadi Misiri, Abu Haris Turkmenistani and Abu Khalid Turkmenistani. During the military operation in Waziristan, the camps were destroyed and Ali Sher had to flee.

Police sources said he remained in touch with the Al Qaeda elements and one of their facilitator in Wana, Haji Abdul Rehman Wazir. They used to help foreign militants escape.

The police sources said they were scanning Ali Sher’s several e-mail addresses to glean further information about the Al Qaeda network in the country.

The news about the arrest of the three militants was circulating here for the last few days, but none of the police high-ups confirmed it.

The Multan district police officer Sikander Hayat had called a press conference on Friday and it was being expected that he may announce the capture of the alleged Al Qaeda operatives.

But, he just announced that the mystery shrouding a blind double-murder case, which had occurred few days ago in the city had been resolved and that a gang involved in kidnapping for ransom had also been unearthed.

However, replying a question he said that some people were under investigations for having links with militant organizations.