Mick Hartley

It’s difficult to know how seriously to take this. The storming of the Red Mosque has landed Musharraf in all kinds of trouble, as if he wasn’t hated enough already by the more Islamist-inclined Pakistanis for his pro-US stance, so the suggestion of an Al Qaeda link would seem to be a smart move to justify the bloodshed. On the other hand, it’s all very plausible…

Al-Qaeda’s leadership secretly directed the Islamic militants whose armed revolt at the Red Mosque in Islamabad ended last week with more than 100 deaths after it was stormed by the Pakistan army.

According to senior intelligence officials, the troops who finally took control discovered letters from Osama Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. They were written to Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz, the brothers who ran the mosque and adjacent madrasah.

Government sources said up to 18 foreign fighters – including Uzbeks, Egyptians and several Afghans – had arrived weeks before the final shootout and set up firing ranges to teach students, including children, how to handle weapons.

Al-Qaeda has wanted to open a Pakistan front in its global jihad since President Pervez Musharraf sided with America after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Diplomats were surprised by the speed with which the fugitive Zawahiri condemned the raid and called on Pakistanis to rise up against Musharraf.