Islamabad, Aug 20: Pakistan's government said a senior al-Qaeda leader based in Afghanistan masterminded the London terror plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam refused to give
the nationality or identity of the alleged mastermind, and
said yesterday the disclosure was not meant to shift
responsibility onto Afghanistan.
"Afghanistan is also suffering because of al-Qaeda
terrorism," Aslam told. "But what we have stated, we stand
by it: We have evidence that suggests that the plot was
hatched by Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda."
Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of making the claim as a
"diversionary" tactic. It blames Pakistan, where at least
seven suspects in the aircraft plot have been arrested, of not
doing enough to crack down on terrorists operating on its
soil.
Aslam's comments follow accounts from Pakistani
intelligence officials that an al-Qaeda leader based in
Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province masterminded the plans to
blow up US-bound jetliners.
The officials allege the mastermind was in touch with
Rashid Rauf, a Briton arrested in Pakistan and identified by
the government as a "key person" in the plot.
Rauf recruited would-be bombers to take part in a
large-scale attack to mark the fifth anniversary of the
September 11, 2001, terrorist strikes in the us, the officials
claim.
"Somebody pretty high up in the al-Qaeda organisation was
behind" the plot, Aslam said, without elaborating.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, August 20, 2006, 00:00