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London cops focus on Pakistan
21/07/2005 07:57 - (SA)
London - Security officials were reported on Thursday as saying that Pakistan has become the focus of their probe into the London bombings, as Islamabad carried out mass arrests of suspected Islamic militants.
The investigation gathered pace as British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government considers an international conference on how to snuff out Islamic extremism while unveiling new measures in response to the bombings.
The authorities in Pakistan said on Wednesday they had detained more than 200 suspected Islamic militants during raids nationwide.
The Financial Times in London reported meanwhile that police and security sources believe extremist groups in Pakistan could hold the key to answering the question of whether the four bombers acted alone or as part of a wider network.
While refusing to give any names, British police sources said they were particularly interested in a man who had recently been arrested in Pakistan and his possible links to the July 7 attacks that cost 56 lives.
Key target
However, Pakistani officials on Wednesday denied media reports that Briton Haroon Rashid Aswad, a major suspected al-Qaeda figure linked to the July 7 London attacks, was one of those arrested.
British police have named four Muslim British nationals, three of Pakistani origin, as the men presumed to have blown up three London subway trains and a bus with suicide bombs. They are now searching for a mastermind behind the attacks.
The Financial Times quoted European intelligence sources as saying: "It is clear that Pakistan has become a key target of the investigation into the London bombings."
According to immigration authorities in Pakistan, suspects Shehzad Tanweer, 22, Mohammed Sidique Khan, 30, and 18-year-old Hasib Hussain all entered the country last year.
The fourth suspect was a 19-year-old Muslim convert born in Jamaica, Germaine Lindsay.
As well as pressuring Pakistan's government to clamp down on madrassas, or religious schools, suspected of spreading extremist ideology, ministers in London have begun moves to tackle Islamic hardline thinking in Britain and elsewhere.
Addressing parliament, Blair noted that only global action could properly tackle the problem. On Tuesday, Blair met two dozen leaders from Britain's own Muslim community and urged them to confront the "evil ideology" behind the attacks.
Speaking directly after the prime minister, Home Secretary Charles Clarke said new anti-terrorism laws would be rushed through "as soon as practicably possible" when parliament returns from its summer break in October. Separately, Britain will draw up a list of "unacceptable behaviour" encouraging terrorism, and any foreign nationals who break the rules will automatically be stopped from entering the country. In another new measure, Blair said Britain had concluded an agreement with Jordan to allow London to deport Jordanian nationals without fear of mistreatment.
- AFP
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