A Pakistani judge ordered yesterday that a Pakistani-British man suspected of involvement in an Al Qaeda plot to blow up US-bound airliners be remanded in custody for two more weeks. The decision by a civil court judge in Rawalpindi will make little difference to Rashid Rauf, as he is already subject to a detention order from a higher court. Last month the Supreme Court extended his detention under a law which allows authorities to detain a person for up to 90 days without charge. Arrested in Pakistan last August, Rauf was identified by Pakistani officials as a key figure in a plot to carry out suicide bombings on airliners travelling from London to the United States. But his case has run into a legal quagmire and is being dealt with by higher and lower courts simultaneously. An anti-terrorism court dropped terrorism charges against Rauf on Dec. 13, citing a lack of evidence, and referred lesser charges, including the possession of explosives, to the civil court. But a high court in Lahore, acting on a plea from the government, later suspended the trial in a move aimed at getting the case referred back to the anti-terrorism court. The high court would decide on the jurisdiction of the trial on Jan. 15.
Handcuffed, wrapped in a shawl and wearing a cap, the bearded Rauf appeared on Friday before the civil court in Rawalpindi, a garrison town adjoining the capital, Islamabad. Police did not allow Rauf to speak to journalists, but he chatted with a sobbing aunt and other relatives inside the court after Judge Mohammad Kaleem Khan remanded him in custody until Jan. 19. Hashmat Habib, RaufÂ’s lawyer, said the judge had also ordered that Rauf should not be handcuffed when he next appears in court.
Pakistani officials said Rauf had been in contact with an al Qaeda operative in Afghanistan planning the attacks on US-bound airliners. In brief comments to reporters when he appeared in court last month, Rauf said the charges against him were unjust. According to reports, Rauf left Britain and travelled to Pakistan in 2002 after the murder in Britain of an uncle. Britain has sought RaufÂ’s extradition in connection with that murder investigation. Pakistan said it was considering the request.