Pak to charge three men over failed Times Square bombing

Islamabad, Sep 9(ANI): Pakistan will soon charge three men with terrorism in connection with the failed attempt to bomb New York's Times Square, a police official has said.

The three men identified as Shoaib Mughal, Shahid Hussain and Humbal Akhtar have been held since May, but Pakistan had not formally announced their arrest.

They will be charged with helping Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad with money and helping him meet Taliban leaders in Pakistani tribal areas.

Islamabad Police Deputy Inspector General Bin Yamin said that they would soon be charged in court with terrorism offenses.

Yamin described them as having "militant minds" and a strong hatred for America, The Daily Times reports.

Earlier, Pakistan had acknowledged that Shahzad had met Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

"He visited Pakistan seven times and he met Hakimullah Mehsud and also met other people, those so-called leaders of the Taliban," Rehman Malik, Pakistani Interior Minister, had said.

The TTP is based in Pakistan's tribal areas, and has been blamed for some of the deadliest suicide attacks in the country.

It has also claimed responsibility for the May 1 New York bomb plot.

After his confession in the federal court, Shahzad had said that he sought and received five days' training in explosives before returning to the US in February to carry out the bomb plot with funding from the militant group.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 5 and faces life in prison. (ANI)