February 23, 2002	Saturday	Zilhaj 10, 1422

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Shaikh Mubarik Shah Gillani, the man Daniel Pearl had sought to meet before being kidnapped and who was released on the intervention of the High Court, is now under investigation for his alleged links to Al Qaeda and for money laundering from the US into Pakistan and vice versa.

Dawn learnt from senior interior ministry sources that Gillani, who remained elusive in the Daniel Pearl case and was a prime suspect before the confessional statement of British national Sheikh Omar in the case, is under “discreet” investigation.

“We are carrying out a discreet investigation into the links of Al Fuqra with Al Qaeda,” the director-general of crisis management cell of the interior ministry, Brig Javed Cheema, said.

Gillani, talking to Dawn on Thursday at the residence of an ex-ISI operative, termed the kidnapping episode a Zionist plot to get his organization and educational institute declared as terrorist outfits and a conspiracy against the ISI.

He denied any association with Al Fuqra and said he did not favour jihad against the US.

“What they are trying to prove is that Richard Reid is Al Qaeda man. If they prove that he is my mureed (follower), then they would have an excuse to proceed against all the 10,000-15,000 people who are my followers in America. So, this is the main conspiracy,” he said.

“Daniel is a secret service agent,” Gillani had alleged a day before the confirmation of the death of the Wall Street Journal reporter. The US intelligence agencies have, however, denied the allegations of the kidnappers that Daniel was an undercover agent.

Gillani said he would be suing Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar for saying that he (Gillani) had links with India.

Gillani, contrary to the claims of IG Police Syed Kamal Shah, said he had presented himself before the Rawalpindi police after his name was linked to the kidnapping. He said his contributions to the Kashmir cause since 1947 and then to the Afghan Jihad were on record.

Questioning the foreign minister’s statement which, according to Mr Sattar, was made on the basis of information obtained by th