 The Foreign Office has denied as "absurd" reports in the press that Islamic charities had diverted money meant for earthquake relief to fund the alleged London terror plot.
The FO also denied that Rashid Rauf, a key suspect arrested in Pakistan, had any connection with charities involved in earthquake relief. | “These are all absurd stories. The objective is to malign Pakistan...” |
"These are all absurd stories. The objective is to malign Pakistan," FO spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam said at a briefing on Tuesday. She said Britain had not sought Rauf's extradition from Pakistan. Aslam said the arrest of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed had nothing to do with the London plot. "He has been put under house arrest because of some statements which were not in the public interest."
| “This is a bogus story. It has nothing to do with reality...” |
Suspicion has fallen on two Pakistani charities said to be linked to banned militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad and its affiliate Jamaat-ul-Furqan, Pakistani intelligence officials told Reuters. "We are looking into the activities of al-Rasheed Trust and al Asar Trust because there are some questions over whether they have been involved in money transfers from Britain to Pakistan during the earthquake relief effort, and whether the funds were subsequently forwarded to conspirators in the plot to blow up passenger planes," said one official. Western media have speculated that Jamaatud Dawa could also be involved, but a spokesman for the group denied this. “This is a bogus story. It has nothing to do with reality,” Yahya Mujahid told AP. |