Excerpt:
For the first time since 9/11, about 4,800,000 Norwegians were threatened by a possible Al Qaeda terror plot . In a country generally associated with the Nobel Prize ceremony, the 160,000 Muslim population – which includes 30,000 Pakistanis – are now questioning their identity.
The three alleged Al Qaeda militants arrested in Norway are part of a larger plot linked to the bomb plot last summer where attacks on the New York Subway were planned and, a similar plot in Manchester, UK where plans were underway to bomb a shopping mall. E-mails from the plotters originating in US, UK and Norway were traced back to a Yahoo e-mail account in Pakistan. The three arrested in Norway are suspected to be members of the Turkistan Islamic party, which US officials say had its base in Pakistan.
Laila Bokhari, political secretary of the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad, said on the DawnNews programme 'Reporter,' that the Norwegian government was surprised at the arrest of three people who were allegedly involved in terrorist activities. Bokhari stated that the Al Qaeda threat in Norway could be due to the presence of Norwegian troops in Afghanistan and people migrating to Norway from different conflict areas.