Mirror : Suspect's Dad Held At Airport

SUSPECT'S DAD HELD AT AIRPORT

21 August 2006 | By Ann Gripper

THE father of the man suspected of masterminding the liquid bombs terror plot has been held in Pakistan.

Abdul Rauf, whose 25-year-old son Rashid has been arrested, was stopped before he boarded an international flight at Islamabad airport.

The 52-year-old baker - who founded Crescent Relief London in 2000 but is no longer connected with it - was questioned but not charged and is free to fly home to Birmingham. The arrest of his son Rashid, 25, in Pakistan almost two weeks ago triggered the terror raids in the UK less than 24 hours later.

Rashid's brother Tayib, 22, was arrested at home in Birmingham during the raids and is one of 23 suspects still being questioned.

Crescent Relief has emerged as a potential link between some of the terror suspects. It was founded to help orphans and disaster victims and raises £89,000 a year. Rashid Rauf may be connected to a terrorist leader opposed to Indian rule of the disputed region of Kashmir, it has emerged.

It is believed the sister of Rauf's wife is married to the brother of militant muslim Maulana Masood Azhar.

Azhar is head of Jaish-e-Muhammad, said to have been behind a 2004 assassination attempt on Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and several other terror attacks.