May 18, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1427

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SYDNEY, May 17: An Australian architect, charged with planning to bomb either the nation’s electricity grid or defence installations in Sydney, rejected the charges on Wednesday, telling a court he was not a terrorist.

A prosecutor told the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney that a “terrorism manual” was found in the home of Pakistan-born Fahim Khalid Lodhi in 2003 and that he had planned to wage “violent jihad” in Australia.

Defence lawyer Phillip Boulten told the jury at his trial on Wednesday that Mr Lodhi, 36, was “not a violent religious fanatic” and denied the charges, Australian Associated Press reported.

Taking the stand for the first time, Mr Lodhi was asked by his lawyer whether he was involved in any terrorism plan. “No, it’s not true,” Mr Lodhi replied.

The prosecutor said in his opening statements in April that a manual detailing the manufacture of poisons and explosives, along with 38 aerial photographs of defence sites and two maps of the country’s electricity grid, were found at Mr Lodhi’s home.