Monday, September 19, 2005
3 Army officers jailed for Qaeda links
By Mubasher Bukhari
LAHORE: A military court has imprisoned three military officers and ordered the dismissal of three others for having links with Al Qaeda, sources told Daily Times on Sunday.
Col Khalid Abbasi, Major Adil Qudoos, Col Abdul Ghaffar, Maj Attaullah, Capt Dr Usman Zafar and Major Rohail Faraz were tried by a military court in Panu Aqil Cantonment in August after they were arrested and then interrogated at Attock Fort, the source said.
The military court, comprising Major General Ahmad Nawaz and Brigadier Mumtaz Iqbal, sentenced Maj Qudoos to 10 years in prison, Col Khalid Abbasi to six months and Col Abdul Ghaffar to three years. Maj Attaullah, Maj Faraz and Capt Zafar were dismissed.
Maj Qudoos, an officer of the Signal Battalion, was arrested on March 1, 2003 after Al Qaeda number three Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was arrested from his Rawalpindi house. Col Khalid Abbasi was posted at Signal Centre Kohat before his arrest on May 30, 2003. Col Ghaffar was serving at the Army Aviation Headquarter before his arrest on March 4, 2004.
Daily Times asked Inter Services Public Relation for comment, but Maj Shahid Abbas of the ISPR’s Lahore Office said that only ISPR Director General Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan was authorised to comment. Gen Sultan is accompanying President Pervez Musharraf in the United States.
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