Islamabad: Pakistani police and United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents have arrested a doctor and eight of his family members in a joint operation in Lahore for suspected links with Taleban and al-Qaida.

Gastroentologist Dr Ahmad Javed Khwaja, his sons Omar Karar and Khizar Ali (both also doctors), his brothers Ahmad Naveed and Ahmad Nadeem, nephews Usman, Ali and Hassan and uncle Farooq Mir were picked up from their residence on December 19 night, according to media reports.

Khwaja and his two sons also hold United States nationality, while one of his brothers and a nephew have Canadian passports.

Marghoob Ahmad Mir, brother-in-law of the physician, denied that the doctor or his family members had any links to al-Qaeda. However, he admitted that the physician was a religious man and used to visit Afghanistan during its Soviet occupation to help war victims.

Mir said contacts had been made with the authorities in Islamabad. "They have assured us that six of the arrested men would be released on December 20.

Rubina Omar, Omar's wife, also said that Khwaja once visited Afghanistan after Setember 11 attacks in Oct 2001 and had taken a truckload of medicines for war victims.

Khwaja was the second Pakistani doctor to be arrested for alleged links with Osama bin Laden in recent months. In November, Dr Aziz Amir, an orthopaedician, who allegedly treated Osama, was arrested by FBI-Pak personnel and later released after several weeks of interrogation.

PTI