KARACHI, Sept 22: Pakistan has so far handed over to the United States 422 Al Qaeda operatives who were nabbed in different operations, as authorities claimed they have broken the back of the organisation within the country.

“I think their (Al Qaeda) back is broken and either they are hiding or trying to run away,” said ISPR Director General, Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi, while replying to questions of newsmen in connection with the recent operations in the city and elsewhere, here on Sunday.

He said there had been a gradual decline in the intensity of acts of terrorism owing to improved intelligence.

Clarifying the number of Al Qaeda men arrested in the country, Gen Qureshi said 380 Al Qaeda activists of foreign origin were arrested from tribal areas who were later handed over to the United States. Some managed to come deeper into Pakistan and reached Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi. About 35 were rounded up during the operation against Abu Zubeida in Faisalabad and seven were among those who were arrested during the Sept 11 operations in Karachi.

Dispelling the perception that Al Qaeda cells were functioning in the country, Gen Qureshi said: “It will be much safer for anybody connected with Al Qaeda to remain in Afghanistan than to be in Pakistan.”

He said given the situation in Afghanistan, it was easier for Al Qaeda men to mingle with the local population there.

Referring to the Sept 11 operations here in which Ramzi bin Al Shibh was also arrested, the ISPR chief denied any FBI involvement in the operation and termed “non-sense” the perception that it was launched after the FBI had intercepted a satellite phone call.

“It was totally an ISI operation, FBI was not involved, though earlier the US had given us the list of most-wanted people,” said Gen Qureshi.

In fact, he said, the operation had commenced two or three days earlier when two suspects were arrested. He said the ISI had been monitoring the situation in the area before the operation was actually launched.

Gen Qureshi said more than five people, perhaps seven were handed over to the US authorities, while five were with the Pakistani authorities and were being interrogated. He said the owner of the apartment was also in custody. He could not identify the names of the two persons who were killed in the shootout.

Gen Qureshi said Khalid Shaikh Mohammad was not identified in the group of the people arrested in the operation. He however, said laptops and weapons were recovered from the place. He said the operation was not directed against any particular person.

When his attention was drawn to reports that agencies had also recovered travel documents of Osama bin Laden from the DHA building on Sept 11, Gen Qureshi said it was “non sense”.

Asked to confirm the arrest of about 10 Arab nationals from the Kurram Agency on Saturday, Rashid Qureshi said he had no knowledge of that.

He categorically denied that there was any fresh attempt on the life of President Pervez Musharraf during Ideas-2002 here. Those who were arrested were in fact involved in some earlier acts of terrorism, he said.

The ISPR chief also emphasized that President Musharraf’s remarks about stepping down as the COAS during his visit to the United States had been misunderstood. There was no such announcement that he would soon step down as the COAS, he said. He also reaffirmed that Oct 10 elections would be held as planned and all doubts in this regard were unfounded and misleading.

Gen Qureshi also talked about the president’s interaction with the US officials and attempts by Indian to malign Pakistan for everything to distract world attention from its misdeeds in the occupied Kashmir.