A city-based catering company — used regularly by various diplomatic missions in the Capital — has been linked to the bombing attempt at New York City's Times Square on May 1. The Houston-educated vice-president of Hanif Rajput Catering Service Salman Ashraf has been missing since May 10 and now reports suggest that he is among the six people picked up from across the country in connection with the attempted bombing.
Though there was no official confirmation from Pakistani authorities on these arrests, a warden notice put out by the U.S. embassy said it had “threat information suggesting that terrorist groups may have established links to the Hanif Rajput Catering Service owned by Rana Ashraf Khan and his son Salman Ashraf in Islamabad”.
As a precautionary measure, the U.S. government personnel in Pakistan have been instructed to avoid using this company for catering purposes. “We have shared this information with appropriate Pakistani government agencies for their action,” the notice added.
Mr. Salman Ashraf's business partner in a separate cafeteria venture, Ahmed Raza Khan, has also been missing since May 10. Their families had filed a missing persons complaints with the area police soon after they disappeared and Mr. Salman Ashraf's father has also approached the Supreme Court seeking its intervention in finding his missing son.
Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Rana Ashraf Khan said: “I don't know if my son has been picked up in the Faisal Shahzad case. No one has told us anything. If he has been arrested, then we should be informed.'' As for the U.S. Embassy notice, Mr. Khan said as the Chief Executive Officer of the catering service, he was prepared to answer any questions that authorities may have about his business. “With that notice which hinges on the possibility of a terrorist link, they have also tarnished my business.''
