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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| On the trail of a Maldivian terrorist |
| 2005-04-28 |
| Exactly 10 days after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf left India after cementing bilateral ties, a closely-guarded secret about the arrest of a sworn anti-Musharraf Maldivian terrorist in Kerala is slowly trickling out. Kerala Police, acting on an intelligence input, arrested Asif Ibrahim, head of a sleeping capsule of Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen in Puttalam, Sri Lanka, while he was scouring the possibility of buying sniper guns and explosives for subversive activities in Maldives. His eventual deportation, however, is smouldering as intelligence agencies feel that the Police should've retained him for some more time for extracting his Indian connections. Jamaah Tul Muslimeen, suspected to be a front organisation of Al Qaeda, stands for Talibanisation of countries with high Muslim population. The organisation, enjoying full patronage of ISI, has active links with Karachi. The organisation has openly announced its stand to overthrow Governments in Muslim countries like Maldives and Pakistan, headed by liberal leaders and President Gayoom and President Musharaf. During interrogation, the Maldivian terrorist spilled facts that shocked even intelligence agencies. Asif confessed that he had met many UK-settled Maldivians in Karachi last year who wanted a more pro-Muslim governance in Maldives. He also told his interrogators that he was assigned the task of opening a Jama'ah Tul Muslimeen cell in Colombo for carrying out various activities. "He admitted that about 1 million Sri Lankan rupees was channelled into Colombo under the guise of tsunami funds for setting up the terrorist cell. More money was to be funneled into the country from different parts of the world. He also admitted that he was in Kerala to tap possible sources who could provide him with sniper guns and explosives," top sources told this website's newspaper. The idea was to blow up Maldivian Islamic Centre. Asif Ibrahim had even shifted his family from Male to Colombo to save them from possible interrogation after the mission was accomplished. Many officials feel that Asif should've been subjected to more severe interrogation. "He acted funny. When an IG-rank officer encountered him, he refused to give answers maintaining that he had already given his views on the issue," sources said. Asif confessed that he was trying to open a cell in Kerala but dropped the idea for want of local support. But there has been some positive signals for the Maldivian cause of late. More such details should've been collected than sending him to Maldives, sources said. Police, however, stand by their decision. "We handed him over to Maldivian authorities. There was nothing anti-India. He has been arrested on arrival at Male," sources said. But intelligence agencies feel that police should've verified this theory before believing it. "Asif looked like a well-trained operative. Police never bothered to think twice that he probably would've been lying. And now we've no control over him," a senior officer pointed out. Thiruvananthapuram is turning out to be a major link in the international circuit of illegal activities. the drug traffic has already registered a spurt. The capital city has also become a platform for anti-Maldivian activities. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |