DNA India : UK terror plot suspects visited Pakistan between 2003-06

UK terror plot suspects visited Pakistan between 2003-06

Amir Mir | August 18, 2006

LAHORE: Pakistan has informed the British intelligence agencies that out of the 21 British nationals arrested from England on charges of plotting to blow up US-bound transatlantic flights, seven had visited Pakistan between 2003 and 2006.

According to sources, the British intelligence recently provided to their Pakistani counterparts a list of the arrested accused to ascertain if any of them had visited Pakistan.

The subsequent information collected by the Pakistani authorities revealed that as many as seven suspects visited Pakistan. A senior interior ministry official said the concerned authorities checked the record of years 2003-06 of foreigners who travelled to Pakistan.

To recall, three of the four British nationals of the Pakistani origin who carried out the 7/7 London bombings, too had visited Pakistan.

The list sent to Pakistan include, the names of Abdul Ahmed Ali, Cossor Ali, Shahzad Khurram Ali, Nabeel Hussain, Umair Hussain, Umar Islam, Waseem Kiyani, Assan Abdullah Khan, Waheed Arafat Khan, Osman Adam Khatib, Abdul Muneem Patel, Tayib Rauf, Muhammad Usman Siddique, Assad Sarwar, Ibrahim Sarvant, Amin Asmin Tariq, Shamim Muhammad Uddin and Waheed Zaman. The youngest suspect is just 17-year-old.

As the case is largely being handled by the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the security outfit has urged all law enforcement agencies to opt for silence.

Any information would be disclosed to the media only after a consensus is reached between the Pak-UK governments on the extradition of these suspects.