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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistani ’sheltered al-Qaeda men’ |
| 2003-01-15 |
| The Pakistani authorities say a doctor arrested last month harboured prominent members of the al-Qaeda network. A statement from the Interior Ministry said Dr Ahmed Javed Khawaja and members of his family had given refuge to wanted al-Qaeda suspects at a residential compound near Lahore. The government was responding to a petition filed by the doctor's family contending that his detention was unlawful. Four other members of the family are also detained being under Pakistan's stringent security laws. The government statement, read out by Deputy Attorney General Sher Zaman in Lahore High Court, named those the doctor and his family had helped as: Abu Yasir al-Jazairi, an Algerian-Moroccan national responsible for al-Qaeda business affairs. Sheikh Said al-Masri, an Egyptian national in charge of al-Qaeda finances. Assadullah, an Egyptian national from the militant Jamaat al-Islamiyyah group. Abu Faraj, head of al-Qaeda's North African network and deputy to Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who is believed to have helped plan the 11 September attacks. There was no indication of the current whereabouts of those named. The Interior Ministry says that items recovered from the family include foreign passports - amongst them three Sudanese, three Egyptian and one Afghan. Extras - these guys always carry at least a dozen. This clearly proves "that Khawaja's family were involved in facilitating and harbouring al-Qaeda elements", the authorities say. A lawyer for the family, Hamid Khan, said the statement was not supported by any material evidence, and that they planned to file a response. Let me see if I can guess what that would be; Lies, all lies! The security forces originally arrested nine members of the family in December, reportedly with help from the FBI. Wiretaps or cell/satellite phone monitoring, most likely Four were subsequently released. A fortnight ago, lawyers and relatives were finally allowed access to the detainees after a court forced the authorities to reveal where the men were being held. The family are seeking to have them freed on the grounds that they were detained illegally. Of the five detainees, the doctor and his brother, Ahmad Naveed Khawaja, face separate charges under Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws, although it is not clear when their trial will begin. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Both the MMA and JI websites are making much of this. Islamic rules of evidence work as follows: whatever testimonial, circumstantial or material facts support an accusation against a jihadi, is false. That's sharia. These are the enemy: www.jamaat.org www.mma.org.pk |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-01-15 14:08:19 |