Kathianne
12-17-2007, 08:26 PM
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3064529.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=2015164
December 18, 2007
Bomb plot suspect escaped while praying
Pakistani ministers embarrassed as it emerges that police bungling set free the terror suspect Rashid Rauf
File picture of Rashid Rauf (REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/Files)
(Faisal Mahmood)
Rashid Rauf: Britain is seeking his extradition
Zahid Hussain in Islamabad, Sean O'Neill and Catherine Philp
Rashid Rauf, a key suspect in the alleged Heathrow bomb plot, escaped police custody in Pakistan after officers allowed him to pray at a mosque as he was being driven back to prison in his uncle’s car.
The bizarre details of Mr Rauf’s escape, and the lax security, emerged as he spent his second day on the run, and are a huge embarrassment for the Pakistani Government.
Mr Rauf fled while being driven by two police officers from a court in Islamabad, where he had appeared over Britain’s request for his extradition. On a similar journey last year he arrived at court in a police van with three dozen police commando guards and several escort vehicles – standard practice for a high-value suspect.
Counter-terrorism sources in Britain reacted with dismay at the news. They have been seeking to extradite Mr Rauf to Britain since last year but efforts have been blocked by a lack of cooperation from Islamabad.
Mr Rauf’s arrest last summer in the Punjab province of Pakistan triggered a series of arrests across Britain amid allegations of a plot to detonate liquid explosives on board aircraft flying between Heathrow and the US.
Investigators have discovered that Mr Rauf left court in his uncle’s car, accompanied by two police officers, and was allowed to stop at a fast-food restaurant for lunch before going on to a mosque to pray.
The two officers waited in the car while Mr Rauf and his uncle, Mohammed Rafiq, entered the prayer room, but when they failed to emerge, the officers discovered that the men had escaped through the back door...
December 18, 2007
Bomb plot suspect escaped while praying
Pakistani ministers embarrassed as it emerges that police bungling set free the terror suspect Rashid Rauf
File picture of Rashid Rauf (REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood/Files)
(Faisal Mahmood)
Rashid Rauf: Britain is seeking his extradition
Zahid Hussain in Islamabad, Sean O'Neill and Catherine Philp
Rashid Rauf, a key suspect in the alleged Heathrow bomb plot, escaped police custody in Pakistan after officers allowed him to pray at a mosque as he was being driven back to prison in his uncle’s car.
The bizarre details of Mr Rauf’s escape, and the lax security, emerged as he spent his second day on the run, and are a huge embarrassment for the Pakistani Government.
Mr Rauf fled while being driven by two police officers from a court in Islamabad, where he had appeared over Britain’s request for his extradition. On a similar journey last year he arrived at court in a police van with three dozen police commando guards and several escort vehicles – standard practice for a high-value suspect.
Counter-terrorism sources in Britain reacted with dismay at the news. They have been seeking to extradite Mr Rauf to Britain since last year but efforts have been blocked by a lack of cooperation from Islamabad.
Mr Rauf’s arrest last summer in the Punjab province of Pakistan triggered a series of arrests across Britain amid allegations of a plot to detonate liquid explosives on board aircraft flying between Heathrow and the US.
Investigators have discovered that Mr Rauf left court in his uncle’s car, accompanied by two police officers, and was allowed to stop at a fast-food restaurant for lunch before going on to a mosque to pray.
The two officers waited in the car while Mr Rauf and his uncle, Mohammed Rafiq, entered the prayer room, but when they failed to emerge, the officers discovered that the men had escaped through the back door...