New Delhi: Acknowledging the presence of terrorists inside Pakistan, a major Pakistani daily has expressed concern over the problem of "aliens" linked with terrorist outfits like al-Qaida operating inside the country and making multiple entries and exits without any check.

Referring to last week's arrest of six al-Qaida men in Karachi and recovery of large amounts of explosive materials, 'The Nation' said in an editorial that the essential problem was that "aliens can come and go into Pakistan through any number of routes and methods, some of them involving our immigration services directly, and others involving their negligence or turning a blind eye."

Referring to the arrests and seizure of "truckload of sulphur" and a massive quantity of other weapons, it asked how did these men get hold of vast amount of explosive material and were "able to move around without detection".

It said the presence of al-Qaida suspects in Pakistan "raises further worrying possibilities" and said that a key al-Qaida figure, Waleed Muhammad bin Atash and his companions "have been able to wander around Pakistan, perhaps enter and leave on more than one occasion for the last 16 months".

"But this is merely a tip of the iceberg. The majority of those arrested are Pakistanis, which means that al-Qaida operatives find Pakistanis who share their ideals and beliefs and who accept their methods as appropriate," it said, adding there were speculations that al-Qaida tried to reorganise itself after their expulsion from Afghanistan and recruit new cadres.

All significant al-Qaida leaders like Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Ramzi bin Alshibh and Abu Zubaidah, were arrested from Pakistani cities and not in the border areas.

PTI