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| India-Pakistan | |
| Pakistani woman arrested for Qaeda links? | |
| 2003-04-06 | |
| Site requires registration.. Aafia Siddiqui, a postgraduate in neurological science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became the first woman to be arrested for being allegedly connected to Osama bin Ladenâs Al Qaeda when a raiding party consisting of Pakistani and FBI officials picked her up Friday from a house in Karachiâs Gulshan-e-Iqbal area. TFT has learnt that her husband Dr Mohammad Khan is also wanted by the agencies. He was at large until the filing of this report on Wednesday. A 1994 graduate of MIT, Aafia Siddiqui majored in biology, anthropology and archaeology and spent part of her college years in Pakistan. The MIT website informs visitors that university records show Siddiqui lived in an on-campus dorm in 1995 and listed her home address as Karachi. In 1992, Siddiqui received a US$5,000 Carroll L. Wilson Award, given to top students for research opportunities abroad for up to six weeks. Her proposed topic of study was "Islamisation in Pakistan and its Effects on Women.â An Islamic students Internet site also features articles posted by Siddiqui and containing instructions for handing out Islamic literature on campus and establishing Muslim college student associations. I guess she isn't aware how women are treated under 'Islamisation'..
The FBI issued a worldwide search notice for her and the US media reported that Siddiqui was the first woman âactively helping Osama bin Ladenâs al-Qaeda organisationâ. According to reports, she lived in Boston before she disappeared. She was born on March 2, 1972, in Pakistan. In that notice, the FBI wrote: âAlthough Aafia Siddiquiâs current whereabouts are unknown, the FBI believes she is currently in Pakistan.â A terrorist in Pakistan? The FBI alleges that she acted as a âfixerâ for Al Qaeda. The term means she moved money to provide logistical support for terrorist activities and had contacts with extremists in Pakistan. An FBI latest report accuses that being a woman helps Aafia, as âfew would suspect a Western-educated woman with children as a terrorist." Siddiqui is a mother of three children. The US officials suspect that Siddiqui may have been providing logistical support to Adnan El Shukrijumah, a 27-year-old Saudi national, also known as Jaffar the pilot, sought by the FBI on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in the United States. She may also have accompanied El Shukrijumah in his travels inside the United States. It is unclear when and where Siddiqui might have met El Shukrijumah, whose name surfaced among the belongings of reputed senior Al Qaeda organiser Khalid Shaikh Mohammad when he was arrested on March 1 in Pakistan. US officials believe El Shukrijumah was an associate of Jose Padilla, a former Chicago street-gang member who was arrested in the wake of September 11 attacks on suspicion of plotting a âdirty bombâ attack. FBI sources say El Shukrijumah is trained to carry out terrorist attacks and is not merely a senior planner or financier. Recently, the FBI announced that it had obtained information detailing a chemical weapon made with easily available items. âThe device could produce toxic gas such as hydrogen cyanide or chlorine gas and be used as a weapon of mass destructionâ. The FBI warned that these weapons might include the use of a pierced canister, such as a paint can. The larger canister houses another container that may contain a liquid, which would be surrounded by a solid material. When combined, the chemicals produce the toxic gas which would leak through the holes in the outer canister. Sources said the FBI suspects that Aafia Siddiqui, her husband and some other âMuslims with advanced technical qualificationâ were involved in developing formulas that could enable the terrorist organisations making lethal weapons and explosives to be used across United States. | |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |