Al Qaeda operative Abu Sohaib al-Makki, who was recently arrested in Pakistan, had been living in the country for almost ten years.
Mohammed Ali Qasim, alias Abu Sohaib al-Makki, is said to be an expert in computers and explosives, and was involved in recent terrorist activities in Karachi.
According to a senior security official, Makki's arrest yielded a 'treasure trove' of information, the Dawn reports.
Makki had been in Pakistan since June 2001, though it remains unclear when the 34-year-old terrorist started living with his family in Karachi. Earlier, the Yemeni-origin terrorist lived in South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Peshawar and Faisalabad.
The exact date of arrest is being kept secret because security agencies are working to unearth his "elaborate terror network" in the city.
While some have claimed that Makki was arrested days after Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden had been killed in Abbotabad, others said he that had been under surveillance since the beginning of May, but was arrested on Tuesday.
Makki was taken into custody along with his wife and three children. Initial investigations revealed that earlier, he operated along the Pak-Afghan border facilitating movements of Al Qaeda operatives, and later started targeting Pakistan and got involved in terrorist activities in Karachi, including bombings and probably target killings.
It is not clear whether he had something to do with the planning of the grenade attack on the Saudi Consulate and the killing of Saudi diplomat Hassan al-Qahtani, who is thought to have been working on Saudi dissidents and extremists living in Pakistan.
Although security officials dismissed reports that he was acting as a courier between Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, as 'speculative', they admitted that he had been in touch with Al Qaeda's top leadership, and one of the sources described him as a linchpin for the terror organisation. (ANI)
