Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty to a botched car bomb attack in New York, visited Pakistan seven times and met local Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, the interior minister said on Monday.
"He (Shahzad) visited Pakistan seven times in the last few years and he met Hakimullah Mehsud and also met other people, (including) leaders of the Taliban," Rahman Malik told media persons in Pabbi town in the country's northwest.
The acknowledgement came just days after the emergence of a video that showed 30-year-old Shahzad, son of a retired air vice marshal, shaking hands with and hugging Mehsud, the chief of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Mehsud had claimed responsibility for the failed car bombing in New York on behalf of the Taliban and warned that his group would carry out more such attacks. Shahzad pleaded guilty to the bomb plot in a New York court last month and warned of more attacks on the US.
Pakistani security and intelligence agencies have detained several persons, including former army officers, for alleged links with the Pakistan-born Shahzad. Interior Minister Malik sought to distance Pakistan from Shahzad, saying he is an American national and the US administration should try him in accordance with its laws.
"We accept he is of Pakistani origin but all his actions in America should also be investigated,"
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