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20-07-2005 The Scotsman London-link suspects held as Pakistan cracks down on militants By Gethin Chamberlain Chief News Correspondent THE investigation into links between the London bombers and terrorist groups in Pakistan was concentrated on Lahore yesterday as police there said they were holding seven Islamic militants with possible links to the suspects. Authorities detained another 52 people suspected of links to militants as part of a nationwide sweep. Security officials believe one of the bombers spent time at a seminary in Lahore, an eastern city where many militant groups have clandestine operations and where al-Qaeda operatives have previously been arrested. One of the bombers is believed to have spent time at a religious school there. Lahore's police chief, Tariq Saleem, confirmed the arrests. "We are holding a few militants who are suspected of having links to the London suicide bombers," he said. Officers were trying to find out if the "London bombings have any tentacles in Pakistan, especially in Lahore". Investigators are seeking to establish whether the bombers received training, encouragement or other assistance from extremists in Pakistan, or even if the plot was hatched there. A senior security official said: "We suspect two or three of the detained had links with the bombers. We are interrogating them intensively. We hope we will come out with some positive outcome shortly." The seven detained men are believed to be from two outlawed militant groups, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Both have links to al-Qaeda and some of their supporters have been arrested for trying to assassinate the Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf. Five of the detained men were picked up in Punjab, and two were caught in southern Sindh province. "These men are suspected of spreading religious hatred and having links with militant groups," an official said. More arrests are expected. Police and other security agencies have detained 52 men on suspicion of links to militant groups and attacks, after an order from Gen Musharraf to curb militancy. Police raided a seminary in Islamabad and intelligence agents raided an Afghan refugee camp, arresting two foreigners on suspicion of links with al-Qaeda. As part of the crackdown, police shut the offices of four militant magazines in the southern city of Karachi and arrested five journalists for publishing hate-mongering material, according to Tariq Jamil, the city's police chief. It has emerged that three of the London bombers - Shehzad Tanweer, Hasib Hussain and Mohammad Sidique Khan - visited Pakistan during the past year. Pakistani intelligence officials already believe that Tanweer met Osama Nazir, a Pakistani arrested in November 2004 for helping plan a 2002 grenade attack on an Islamabad church that killed five people, including two Americans. Hussain arrived in Karachi on 15 July last year and the other two arrived together on 19 November and returned to London in February. Pakistan has said it will extend full support to Britain to find clues related to the London attacks. However, some western officials say Pakistan has not done enough to crack down on militants who are believed to seek shelter and inspiration in religious schools, or madrassas. Pakistani intelligence agents have questioned students, teachers and administrators at a school in central Lahore and at least two other radical Islamic centres. The Election Commission of Pakistan has banned members of five groups with terrorist links from standing in elections.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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