ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday arrested several relatives of the Pakistani-American held in New York on suspicion of driving a bomb-laden car into Times Square, security sources said.

 said Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Meanwhile, a senior Pakistani government official said US ambassador to Islamabad Anne Patterson held talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said they were awaiting details from the US authorities about Faisal.

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“There has been initial discussion when the US ambassador met our foreign minister,” said the official.

“Pakistan and the US have ongoing, robust cooperation on counter-terrorism. If required, we will extend fullest cooperation to US,” the official added.

Shahzad is from the disputed Kashmiri region but it is not known if he was affiliated with any militant group, a source familiar with the investigation said on Tuesday. The source asked not to be named because the issue is sensitive.

Shahzad was due to appear in federal court later on Tuesday to face charges of “driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1,” officials said. Had the bomb detonated, many people could have died, experts said.

“He’s admitted to buying the truck, putting the devices together, putting them in the truck, leaving the truck there and leaving the scene,” the law enforcement source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“He’s claimed to have acted alone. He did admit to all the charges, so to speak,” said the source who added that investigators were still looking into his activities during a recent trip to Pakistan.