Pak police to file charges against arrested 5 US youths

The Pakistani police will file a chargesheet against five American Muslims, arrested last month for alleged terror links, on Monday for conspiring against the state and plotting terrorist attacks.

The police will submit the 'challan' (chargesheet) in an anti-terrorism court in Sargodha, charging the youths under the Anti-Terrorism Act and Pakistan Penal Code for criminal conspiracy against the state and plotting attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials said.

The youths -- Ramy Zamzam, 22, Waqar Hussain Khan, 22, Ahmed Abdullah Minni, 20, Iman Hasan Yemer, 17 and Omar Farooq, 24 -- were arrested in Sargodha district on December 9.

They have also been interrogated by a team of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"We decided to charge the accused under the provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code after they disclosed they had plans to wage a war against US forces in Afghanistan.

They also disclosed this before the anti-terrorism court," Sargodha police chief Usman Anwar said.

"We will present to the court the record of their meetings with Jaish-e-Mohammed and Jamaat-ud-Dawah in Hyderabad and Lahore respectively.

Details of e-mails and records of phone calls made by the youths to Saifullah, an American Arab who promised to (help them join the jihad), and a man in Dubai will also be given to the court," Anwar said.

The police will also present to the court a video of Zamzam in which he states that the youths were happy to embrace 'shahadat' (martyrdom), Anwar said.

Zamzam handed over the video to his family, asking them to release it after he had "accomplished his mission".

The youths are currently being held in the high-security zone of Sargodha jail. The families of only Waqar Hussain Khan and Omar Farooq had contacted them in prison so far, Anwar said.

A joint team of officials of the Inter Service Intelligence, the Military Intelligence, the Intelligence Bureau, the Federal Investigation Agency, the Crime Investigation Department and the Punjab police have probed the youths' alleged terror links.

 According to a report prepared by this team, the youths were unhappy over the US government's policies in the Muslim world, especially in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.

They posted their feelings on the popular website Youtube and also developed contacts with Saifullah, believed to be an Al Qaeda operative based in Pakistan.

Saifullah travelled to the US and met the youths in Virginia. He reportedly told them that he would help them fulfill their desire to join groups fighting US forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the report said.

After arriving in Pakistan, the youths were to meet Saifullah at Mianwali on December 9 and then travel to Hangu and Kohat to meet some Al Qaeda operatives before going to

Afghanistan, the report said.

The report also said the youths planned to target some important installations in Pakistan. They had also contacted a man in Dubai who is believed to be part of the Al Qaeda network, it said.