MUMBAi, Dec 14: Scotland Yard detectives and Australian police were meeting their Indian counterparts on Friday after an alleged member of Al-Qaeda reportedly confessed here to plans for terrorist strikes on both countries, officials said.

The investigators were meeting Indian officials after Mohammad Afroz Abdul Razzak, arrested in October in Bombay, said Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network had formed suicide squads for attacks in Britain and Australia, in addition to New York’s World Trade Center and the Indian parliament.

“The two teams are now discussing chances of attacks on Australia’s Rialto Towers and the House of Commons of Britain after the attack on our parliament. We are giving them all the required information,” said Chagan Bhujbal, deputy chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Bhujbal said it was unclear whether the Australian and British police would interrogate Afroz.

Earlier this month London’s Daily Telegraph quoted British intelligence sources as dismissing Indian reports that suicide bombers planned to crash airplanes into the British parliament.—AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...