BOMBER'S BELIEFS: Friends thought Shehzad Tanweer's passion was for cricket, but Mohammad Saleem knew his cousin dreamed of giving his life to avenge what he saw as injustices against Muslims.
Tanweer was one of three British Muslims of Pakistani descent suspected of being suicide bombers in the attacks in London on July 7th.
"Whenever he would listen about sufferings of Muslims he would become very emotional and sentimental," recalled his cousin Saleem.
Tanweer, a 22-year-old former sports student from Leeds in northern England, visited his family's old village in Punjab during a trip to Pakistan that began in mid-November last year and ended in early February.
"He was a good Muslim . . . he used to tell us about jihad [ holy war]. He also wished to take part in jihad and lay down his life," Saleem said, adding that Tanweer never mentioned links with any militant groups.
"Whatever he has done, if he has done it, then he has done right," Saleem said.
"He knew that excesses are being done to Muslims. Incidents like desecration of the Koran have always been in his mind," Saleem said, referring to reported allegations that Islam's holy book had been abused by guards at Guantanamo Bay.
Tahir Pervaiz, an uncle of Tanweer and Saleem's father, recalled his nephew's admiration for the leader of al-Qaeda.
"Osama bin Laden was Shehzad's ideal and he used to discuss the man with his cousins and friends in the village," Pervaiz was quoted as saying in Dawn, a Pakistani daily, on Thursday.
Tanweer's uncle told Dawn his nephew spent most of his time in the family house before returning to Britain, and seldom joined in cricket games with his neighbours.
Pakistani officials say Tanweer and another bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan, entered the city of Karachi on November 19th and both men left for London via Istanbul on February 8th.
Pervaiz told Dawn that Khan visited Tanweer in the village several times. According to Pervaiz, Khan had been staying with an uncle in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
Meanwhile, British diplomats in Pakistan said yesterday that the wave of detentions of suspected militants in Pakistan has not resulted in the arrest of anyone linked to the London bombings. Pakistan's hardline Muslim groups called for nationwide protests on Friday against the authorities' crackdown.