By Ankit Panda
Shahid Usman, a wealthy car-parts dealership owner from Karachi, has been arrested for alleged involvement with Al Qaeda.
Pakistani authorities claim to have arrested one of the suspected commanders of Al Qaeda’s South Asia wing late Thursday evening. The man in question, Shahid Usman, a wealthy car-parts dealership owner, was found with 10 kg of explosives and several small arms in his Karachi residence. Al Qaeda formally founded a South Asia branch in September 2014, promising to expand its activities across the entire region, including India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Al Qaeda already operates extensively in Pakistan and regional intelligence agencies suspected that the organization’s leader would be found in Pakistan. The group’s highest profile attack since its formation in September — an attempt to seize the Pakistani frigate the PNS Zulfiqar — failed.
Pakistani police say that Usman was planning additional terrorist attacks in Karachi, and believe that he is close to Asim Umar, the chief of Al Qaeda in South Asia overall. ”He is the Karachi chief of Al Qaeda’s newly formed wing working under the set up of Asim Umar, the South Asia chief of Al Qaeda,” a senior member of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism unit told Reuters. The same officer commented on Usman’s wealth, noting that his background does not fit the typical profile of an Al Qaeda militant: ”Unlike the usual militant profile, Usman comes from an affluent background.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat