Pakistan doctor 'harbored al Qaeda most wanted'
From CNN Producer Syed Mohsin Naqvi
LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- A prominent doctor arrested along with suspected al Qaeda members last month had at various times given refuge to some of the most wanted al Qaeda members at his compound in the village of Manawan, Pakistan's Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
Dr. Ahmad Javed Khawaje was arrested with four relatives on December 18 in a raid by Pakistan police and FBI agents.
Meanwhile, highly placed sources told CNN that another suspect has confessed to a role in last May's suicide bombing in Karachi that killed 11 French engineers and three others.
The sources said Mohammad Rizwan Bashir purchased the vehicle used in that bombing and drove it close to the Sheraton hotel. A few minutes before the blast he handed it over to someone else, the sources said.
A week ago, police arrested another person, Asif Zaheer, who they said confessed to packing explosives in the car.
Zaheer, a member of the militant group Harkat Jihad-ul Islami, gave them Bashir's name, officials said. Police said they are looking for three more suspects in the bombing.
In another case, a high-ranking police official told CNN that Jack Thomas, a 29-year-old Australian arrested in a January 4 raid, has been found to have close ties with prominent al Qaeda leaders.
The official said that after interrogating Thomas, who they said is a convert to Islam, they expect to make more arrests in coming days.
The official declined to say where Thomas is being held.
