Qaeda top man handed over to US: Musharraf

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday after having completed their interrogations, his country had handed over a top Al Qaeda...

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday after having completed their interrogations, his country had handed over a top Al Qaeda suspect to the United States.

Pakistan announced in May that it had captured Abu Faraj Farj al-Liby, a Libyan who, according to US counter-terrorism agents, had become Al Qaeda’s third-most important figure two years ago.

Musharraf said he did not know whether al-Liby was currently in Pakistan or under US Custody. ‘‘We have extracted all the information and intelligence from him and I presume that he may have been deported already to the US,’’ Musharraf said in response to a question at a forum organised by CNN that was televised live. ‘‘We had decided that having gathered all the information, interrogated him, we are going to deport him. We don’t want him in Pakistan,’’ Musharraf added.

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Pakistan says al-Liby was Al Qaeda’s operations chief and was behind two assassination attempts on Musharraf in December 2003. Asked why Pakistan should be willing to hand over al-Liby when he tried to kill him twice, Musharraf said, ‘‘Yes, indeed, he did attack me twice. But then there are other more important issues of his role in Al Qaeda and his information and intelligence that needs to be corroborated with all the other intelligence gathered through interrogation of other Al Qaeda personalities whom we have apprehended. Therefore these are bigger issues involved and finally we will come to his trial later.’’

Musharraf said al-Liby had not provided any useful information that might help catch Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

He said al-Liby had denied contacts with bin Laden and may have relied on a courier network, other members of which had also been arrested.

US officials have said they believe the Al Qaeda leader may be hiding in the mountainous region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Musharraf said it was impossible to say where bin Laden was.