Pakistan frees suspect in Times Square plot

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities have released a former Pakistani army major arrested in connection with the failed Times Square bombing in New York, saying they had determined he had no links to prime bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad.

Adnan Ahmad was detained in mid-May on suspicion of having links with Shahzad, the Pakistani American accused of rigging a Nissan Pathfinder with explosives that he tried to detonate in midtown Manhattan nearly a month ago. Pakistani law enforcement sources said investigators suspected Ahmad because they believed he and Shahzad had exchanged cellphone calls and had met once in Islamabad.

However, those law enforcement sources said after further investigation, Ahmad has been cleared of all allegations and any links with Shahzad. He was released Thursday. His brother, Qamar Ahmad, a computer engineer, was also detained, but the sources said he was expected to be released soon.

The law enforcement sources said their suspicions about Adnan Ahmad were misplaced, but they were unable to explain why they initially believed he had called Shahzad. Such cell phone calls would have been logged and easy for investigators to track. Both U.S. and Pakistani sources familiar with the investigation had said calls linked Shahzad and Ahmad.

Ahmad’s release suggests a lack of communication between Pakistani and U.S. investigators that may be impeding progress in the case.

U.S. investigators were not given access to Ahmad, Pakistani law enforcement sources said. However, they said information gleaned from interrogations of Ahmad was relayed to U.S. investigators working on the Shahzad case.

Of the 13 people arrested in Pakistan in connection with the Times Square bombing attempt, seven have been released, the sources said.