A man trying to board a flight to Muscat, Oman, was arrested at the Karachi, Pakistan, airport Sunday after batteries, a circuit board and an on-off switch were found in his shoes, Pakistani authorities said.
No explosives were found, authorities said.
The man, identified by Pakistani authorities as Faiz Mohammed, a 30-year-old civil engineer who works for a construction company in Muscat, was searched when a scanner sounded an alarm as he prepared to board a Thai Airways flight to Muscat.
There was no immediate indication from Pakistani security officials on what they thought the intended use of the batteries and other materials might have been.
Officials said the man told interrogators he had come from Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, until recently called North West Frontier Province, an area where Taliban and militants have a presence.
The man lives in East Karachi, officials said.
–CNN's Tommy Evans and journalist Shad Khan contributed to this report.
Is Karachi the cesspool for radical islamist groups? I will never forget that Daniel Pearl was murdered there and beheaded. How horrid.
@alumette – it's the largest city in Pakistan so it's name will come up more often. It is also the center of finance, arts, and many other things. I take it that geography is not your strong point.
I see at least you said 'also'. I'm not sure if cesspool is an apt description, however trying to make Karachi seem like a Pakistani version of Paris is small-minded.
Read 3 Cups of Tea? Great book on intricacies of Pakistan, some really want to educate girls.. Greg Mortensen – great person – NOBLE PEACE Prize Candidate... This world needs more of this example.
So the plan was for each person to cary onto the plane one bomb part. Not one person would have anything that would look like a bomb. Each person hides his one part. And then at some later point it gets assembled in the restroom.
I just saw a news program where an engineer was developing and electric generator to charge portable device (iPod, Cellphone)batteries when walking. The prototype was exactly like this description.
When buying Cellphone Batteries make sure that you are not getting those chinese fakes and knockoffs.""
Maybe he just had a difficult time getting his orthotics to fit correctly???????
A "dry run" perhaps?