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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| One of the detained Paks is a JeM explosives expert |
| 2005-07-19 |
| Addressing a youth conference in Islamabad, Musharraf said nothing in the Holy Qurâan justified the July 7 attacks that killed at least 55 people. âLaunching bomb attacks in London in the name of Islam is not Islam,â he said. He accused banned militant organisations Jaish-e-Mohamed (Army of Mohammad) and Sipah-e-Sahaba (Soldiers of Mohammadâs Companions) of forcing their ideology upon others, although he did not link them to the London bombings. He also took aim at Islamic schools that have been accused of helping to inspire the London attacks. Musharraf himself has been accused of failing to stick to a pledge to rein them in. âYes, today, some Chennaisas are involved in extremism and terrorism,â he said. Religious Affairs Minister Mohamed Ejaz ul Haq said the government is concerned after the London bombings that some madrassas might be violating government rules against preaching militancy. Those found to have done so would be closed down, he said. Musharrafâs comments came after an intelligence official named one of five militants detained by security forces at the weekend as Qari Usman, a Jaish-e-Mohamed bomb expert who may have been involved in a plot to kill Musharraf in 2003. The militants were detained in the central city of Faisalabad as part of a crackdown launched after the London bombings, although no link had been established. âThese people have been arrested because they are militants,â the official said. âWe are trying to establish if they had any links with those involved in the London blasts.â The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Usman was a close associate of Amjad Farooqi, a key planner of a December 2003 attempt on Musharrafâs life and an associate of its Al Qaeda mastermind, Abu Faraj Farj al Liby. Another intelligence official said other detentions in Faisalabad last week were based on information from Jaishâs Osama Nazir, who was arrested in December for a 2002 church bombing and met London bomber Shehzad Tanweer in Faisalabad in 2003. Intelligence sources have said Tanweer visited madrassas in Pakistan, possibly including one linked to Jaish, in 2004. However, some diplomats say any Jaish involvement in the London attacks is still far from clear. While Pakistan has yet to confirm officially that three of the London bombers, Britons of Pakistani descent, visited Pakistan before the attacks, Pakistani immigration officials said they entered Pakistan via Karachi last year. They said Tanweer, 22, and Mohammad Sidique Khan, 31, entered Karachi on November 19, 2004 and left for London from Karachi on on February 8, while Hasib Hussain, 18, entered Karachi from Riyadh on July 15, 2004. The Daily News newspaper reported that Tanweer and Khan stayed at a hotel in Karachiâs central Saddar area for a week before leaving for Lahore by train. Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters Musharraf would address the nation some time this week on the London bombings and the crackdown on militants. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |