Shahzad Tanweer: Suicide bomber was 'proud to be British'

He had been to university, had a bright future ahead of him and he was "proud to be British."

Yet Shahzad Tanweer decided to blow himself up along with 21 London commuters at Kings Cross last week, at the age of 22.

His motives remained a mystery to the shocked relatives and local community yesterday in the Beeston area of Leeds, where he lived in some affluence in one of the most well-respected families in the district.

Yesterday, his uncle, Bashir Ahmad said he was deeply puzzled as to why British-born Shahzad, who was proud of the country to which his Pakistani parents emigrated, could have become a suicide bomber.

"There is no explanation I can come to. He was proud to be British. He had everything to live for. His parents were loving and supportive. They had no financial worries. He was intelligent. He went to university. His plan was to go into sports," said Mr Ahmad, 65, who owns a kebab shop on Tempest Street, just minutes away from the Tanweer family's chip shop.

Shahzad's mother, Parveen Tanweer, has been left devastated by the news that her eldest son chose to end his life with such violence, Mr Ahmad added.

"The family is shattered. This is a terrible thing. It wasn't him. It must have been forces behind him."

Mrs Tanweer, who is in a safe house along with the rest of the family, has been "crying uncontrollably" since she was given the news about her son's actions, according to a family source.

"She cannot believe what she has been told. She cannot speak 48 hours after being told the news by the police," he said.

Shahzad travelled to a Pakistani Islamic School, near Lahore, at the end of last year with the intention of staying there for nine months and learning to recite the Quran by heart. He stayed with an uncle and is not believed to have travelled very far.

After three months, he returned to England to resume life in Leeds, choosing to work part time at his father's chip shop. Mr Ahmad denied that his nephew had travelled to Afghanistan or had taken part in training camps while he was in Pakistan.

"There is no way, I have seen his passport," he said.

Born in December 1982, in Bradford, Shahzad spent much of his life as any second generation Muslim. He spoke both Punjabi and English and had a passion for cricket.

After attending Wortley High School, he moved on to study sports science at Leeds Metropolitan University.

His father, Mohammed Mumtaz Tanweer, was born in Pakistan and came to Britain at the age of two. He went on to own a string of successful businesses including a fish and chip shop he bought seven months ago on Tempest Road.

Neighbours described Tanweer as a "good Muslim" who lived with his parents, his younger brother and two sisters in their semi-detached white pebbledash house.

His friend Mohammed Answar, 19, said: "It's not in his nature to do something like this, he's is the type of guy who would condemn things like that," said Mr Answar.

Sajaad Hussain, of Colwyn Road, said: "He's a very nice lad, a very nice lad. We were brought up together on the same street. He was just a nice lad, you know, kept himself to himself."

Another friend, Azzy Mohammed, 21, added: "He's the kind of person who gets along with anyone. His sense of humour is very good. He's a sweet lad.

"I'm, like everything, shocked, surprised...but I don't feel sorry for him because he took innocent lives.

Mohammed Answar, 19, a friend of Tanweer, was stunned to hear he was suspected of being a suicide bomber and said they played cricket together only last week.

He said: "It's impossible. It's not in his nature to do something like this, he's is the type of guy who would condemn things like that."

- THE INDEPENDENT