ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police raided on Monday a hotel where some of the Americans held on possible links to terrorism stayed, in a case that has highlighted how easily anyone can use the Internet to pursue dreams of waging “holy war.”
The detention of the five young Americans from Virginia in a town that is home to a major Pakistani air base suggests there is little the US ally can do to prevent people from surfing the Web and hooking up with militants bent on toppling the nuclear-armed state.
The case has again focused attention on Pakistan’s performance in fighting militants as Washington presses Islamabad to root out Islamist fighters crossing the border to attack US-led troops in Afghanistan. US Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus, in Islamabad for talks, was expected to reiterate a US call for Pakistan to expand its battle through its lawless northwest, a global hub for Al-Qaeda and allied groups, as President Barack Obama’s administration struggles to stabilize Afghanistan.
He held talks with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, officials said. The man Washington wants to lead the charge against militants, Pakistani President Asif Zardari, is fighting for his political survival, facing the possibility corruption cases against some of his closest aides will be revived.
Underscoring the threat of militants, who showed their long reach with a suicide bombing and gun attack near army headquarters this month, Gilani said on Saturday that Pakistan may open new fronts against the Taleban in its ethnic Pashtun tribal belt on the Afghan border. Police in Karachi raided a hotel where three of the five men stayed upon arrival in Pakistan two weeks ago. But it appears there were few clues.
Senior Karachi police official Ghulam Nabi Memon said a mobile phone and five bags had been recovered, although nothing significant was found in the bags.
Police said investigators were trying to track down a man named “Saifullah” who contacted one of the Americans, Ahmed Minni, through You Tube, a popular site where anyone aspiring to become a jihadi can find a wide range of Al-Qaeda and Taleban videos.
Meanwhile, clashes across the northwest have killed 16 Taleban militants and two soldiers, the army said on Monday.
