ISLAMABAD, Aug 15: The Foreign Office on Tuesday declared that the detained British national Rashid Rauf, a key suspect detained in connection with the London terror plot last week, had no link with any entity in Pakistan.
“Rashid Rauf has nothing to do with any charity involved in the earthquake relief work or with any relief work as such. There is absolutely no connection,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing.
She rubbished all claims that money was transferred to Pakistan under the guise of earthquake assistance. “These are all absurd stories and the objective is to malign Pakistan and to cast a shadow on efforts made by Pakistan to uncover and foil this terrorist plot,” Ms Aslam said.
Rejecting various conspiracy theories, she said: “This is something too serious to be made up by any government because it has its consequences This was for real.”
On the question of terrorist financing she said Pakistan was taking action on the issue and said: “Pakistan’s efforts … in this regard have nothing to do with the London terrorist plot,” she said when asked if Pakistan was investigating the transfer of funds to an Islamic charity from the UK and the US.
She evaded questions about the London terror plot and termed media reports as speculative and fabricated but said: “Divulging more (information) would risk compromising the ongoing investigations.”
Referring to the terrorist plot, she said that it had international dimension, adding that investigations were continuing in Pakistan and Britain. She said: “Investigations are continuing in many places.”
Referring to Rashid Rauf, she said: “Our investigators are satisfied with the way interrogations are progressing,” she said, adding that his arrest was justified. She emphasised that Pakistan would investigate every possible lead but made it clear that there was no link with any Pakistani entity, “proscribed or not proscribed”.
She discarded speculations that people arrested in Pakistan had come here to work as volunteers with Jamaatud Dawwa for earthquake relief or that the house arrest of Hafiz Saeed of the same organisation was somehow related with the ongoing terrorist investigations. Ms Aslam said he was put under house arrest because of some statements he had made which were considered not to be in the public interest.
Ms Aslam said while the US government had proscribed Jammatud Dawwa as a terrorist outfit, Pakistan had no evidence of the entity s involvement in terrorism.
Ms Aslam said that the British government had requested Pakistan for mutual legal assistance under the existing bilateral mechanism of Joint Judicial Cooperation Working Group.
She said that so far the British authorities had not sought Rashid Rauf’s extradition. But she said that because he was a British national, he could be extradited if such a request was received.
The spokesperson said: “Our view is that this was an Al Qaeda operation and Al Qaeda based in Afghanistan.”
Referring to claims that Pakistan remained the epicentre of terrorism, she said: “Obviously those who are … writing these articles … are suffering from amnesia. The seeds of terrorism in this region were sown when thousands of foreigners were brought to this region to fight the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.”
She said: “Rather than being an epicentre of terrorism, Pakistan is the frontline state in the war against terrorism and we are combating this problem along with international community.”
