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Petition against Rauf's extradition
 Relatives of a Briton held in Pakistan over a plot to bomb transatlantic jets have begun legal moves to stop alleged plans to swap him for separatist rebels living in Britain, his lawyers said on Thursday.Officials say the arrest of Rashid Rauf in August sparked a worldwide security alert and arrests in Britain amid fears of a conspiracy to blow up airliners flying from London to the US. We have learned that the Pakistani government is negotiating with the British government for Raufs extradition in return for six wanted Baloch nationalists who are based in the UK, his lawyer Hashmat Habib told AFP. Habib said he had filed a petition with a high court in Rawalpindi on behalf of Raufs maternal uncle Zahoor Akhtar. We have prayed the court to direct the government to share such a request with us and also bar the government from extraditing Rashid unless the petition is decided, he said. Habib said the petition also demanded that the government provide a monthly allowance of Rs 50,000 to Raufs wife and their children. The 25-year-old Rauf faces charges including impersonation, carrying a fake identity card and fake documents. The terror charges said Rauf was in possession of 29 bottles of hydrogen peroxide which were meant to be used to blow up the passenger jets. He denies being linked to the conspiracy. Posted by: Fred 2007-04-06 |
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