Qaeda-linked PAF technicians released

LAHORE: The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court has ordered the release of four technicians of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), who were detained two weeks ago by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) on charges of trying to assassinate President General Musharraf at the behest of Al-Qaeda while using some rocket launchers.

General Musharraf had claimed on October 11 in Islamabad that those arrested in connection with the recovery of live 107mm rockets launchers from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were linked to Al-Qaeda and involved in a crude attempt to assassinate him.

“The perpetrators were all religious extremists, linked to a group having contacts with Al-Qaeda,” he told newsmen in Islamabad.

However, Justice Abdul Shakoor Piracha has ordered the release of the four employees of the PAF’s Air Weapon Complex (AWC), a leading organisation in the field of air-delivered weapons and systems, as the ISI could not prove their involvement in the alleged assassination attempt against Musharraf.

The four detained technicians were Muneer Malik, Ali Ahmed Gondal, Shakeel Rabbani and Saqib Zafar who are likely to be released on Friday. The wives of the detained technicians had petitioned the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court through their lawyer, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqi.