Pakistan - News and Discussion -7

08-14-2006, 02:41 AM

QUOTEThe roots are long and deep 
PESHAWAR, Aug 12: Al Qaedaâs ability to continue to draw international Jihadis to Pakistan, thus creating a sort of nexus, has once again put the country under the spotlight.

A British national told Pakistani interrogators last year that he had trained at a terrorist camp in Pakistan with one of the suicide bombers who carried out last yearâs suicide attacks in London and had met there two senior leaders of Al Qaeda, an intelligence official said in a recent interview.

Though American officials expressed some scepticism about the claim, the Pakistani official said the account suggested that even if Al Qaeda leaders were not directly organising attacks from their hiding places in the tribal border land between Pakistan and Afghanistan, they may play a coordinating or at least an inspirational role by meeting with militants from places like Britain.

It also showed that Al Qaeda remained a significant draw for militants from abroad, said the security official, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the news media.

âAl Qaeda is not a corporate organisation,â the official said. âPeople of this calibre go looking for these leaders.â The official said the claims had come from the interrogation of Zeeshan Siddique, 25, a British national of Pakistani origin. Mr Siddique, too, had been planning some kind of attack in Britain, the official said, but his arrest in NWFP in May 2005 prevented him. After being arrested, Mr Siddique was held for eight months and eventually cleared by a Pakistani court of charges of visa violations and possessing a fake Pakistani identity card. He was deported back to London on Jan 11.

The British police and the Pakistani Embassy in London have refused to comment on Mr Siddique or his whereabouts. But in an interview with the BBC in March, Mr Siddique, a former student at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, forcefully denied any link with Al Qaeda and claimed to have suffered a string of abuses while in custody. He told BBC that his interrogators threatened to pull his fingernails out, put him up on meat hooks and skin him. He claimed to have been drugged, force fed and chained to a bed for 11 days. âThey were trying to force me to make a false confession â which I couldnât do,â he said.

Pakistani intelligence officers fabricated the account, he said, to prove they were cooperating with the United States by producing terrorist suspects. The official said Mr Siddique made the torture allegations to avoid questioning, and that a personal diary and telephone numbers found with him were sufficient evidence of his involvement with Al Qaeda.

The question that whether Osama bin Laden and his network might have given direction to the London bombers in the attack last year is still being analysed by British and American intelligence officials and remains unresolved; The New York Times quoted an American counterterrorism official as saying.

But both British and American officials agree that at least one and possibly two of last yearâs London bombers travelled to Pakistan went to a training camp and may have sought out Qaeda leaders.

âWhat actually happened there, weâre still not sure we know,â the American official told the NYT. The bombers had several telephone conversations with individuals in Pakistan in the last days before the attacks, which suggests they may have had advice or direction, according to a British parliamentary report on the bombings released in May. The Pakistani security official said the bombers had telephone contact with two or three public telephone numbers in Rawalpindi but said it had been impossible to trace who had used the public telephone on those days.

Mr Siddique, the Pakistani official said, claimed to have trained with eight or nine other Britons of Pakistani descent, including at least one of the London bombers who killed 52 people when they blew themselves up on the subway and a public bus. He told his interrogators that the training lasted about three weeks in July 2003 and that it took place in the mountainous district of Upper Dir, some 300 miles north of Peshawar, the official said.

He identified Mohamed Siddique Khan, one of the London suicides bombers, as one of the participants from a photograph shown to him by British investigators after the London bombings, the official said.

The men travelled to the training camp in two separate groups, the officials said, and were instructed in how to use assault rifle. Mr Siddique told interrogators the training was arranged by Mohammed Junaid Babar, a Pakistani American computer programmer from Queens, N.Y., according to the Pakistani official. Mr Babar is now in United States custody after pleading guilty in June 2004 to supplying military equipment to a Qaeda training camp in Pakistan and helping to plan another bomb plot in Britain.

He is cooperating with American authorities and has appeared as a witness at the trial of seven Britons in London accused of training in Pakistan to prepare bomb attacks in Britain more than a year before the London bombings.

After his training, Mr Siddique travelled with Mr Babar to Angor Adda, a town on the border with Afghanistan, near where American and Afghan forces have repeatedly clashed with militants, including foreign fighters, according to the official. They also visited Shakai, a village in South Waziristan, and then Sedgi, in the Shawal valley of North Waziristan, an area known for sheltering foreign militants and where Pakistani forces have mounted operations, the official said.

Mr Siddique said he met two senior Al Qaeda figures during the trip, the official said. One was Abu Munthar al-Maghrebi, who has since reportedly been detained by Pakistani security forces. The other was Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi, a former Iraqi army officer who has been described as Al Qaedaâs No 3 leader. He remains at large.

At the end of the trip, a man called Obaid, probably an alias for Mr Maghrebi, arranged Mr Siddiqueâs transport out of the region to Peshawar, the official said.

Mr Siddique was arrested on May 18, 2005, in a small house outside the city. There, investigators recovered an electrical circuit that could be used as a detonator and a desktop computer that contained aeronautical mapping.

He was also found with telephone numbers of known Al Qaeda members and 35-page diary, typed in English, covering March 2 to April 6, 2005.

The official said he believed that Mr Siddique was waiting to be dispatched as a suicide bomber, and that the diary made cryptic reference to some kind of operation.

The British parliamentary report concluded that two of last yearâs four suicide bombers â Mr Khan and Shahzad Tanweer â had terrorist training in Pakistan and that it was âlikely that they had some contact with Al Qaeda figures.â But the report did not provide details and said that the extent of Al Qaeda involvement remained unclear and under investigation. With the latest report that a key Al Qaeda suspect, Rashid Rauf, directed and served as a contact for those attempting to blow up transatlantic flights, has once again brought the nexus between Islamic Jihadis and Pakistan to the fore, commented an analyst.

Whereas Pakistan can pride itself by claiming to have broken up the network, it should also be worried about the seemingly unending nexus, the analyst said.

Carlotta Gall worked on the story for the NY Times.Â

08-14-2006, 08:52 PM

Britain investigates links to Pakistan QUOTEHouse of Lords member Nasir Ahmed said a member of the Muslim community told him that some of the people detained in the alleged plot went to Pakistan to assist with relief efforts after an earthquake killed nearly 80,000 people last year.

"It may be that out of 22, there may be a number of them who have met someone from extremist groups in Pakistan orÂ Â Â Â Kashmir," Ahmed said. "Some may have met them without knowing that they were meeting (extremists) because they were helping out in the aftermath of the earthquake."

The New York Times reported that money raised for victims of the earthquake was channeled to the plotters through the Pakistani-based charity Jamaat al-Dawat â a charge the charity denied. 

The charity is not registered in Britain, but laws do not prevent British citizens from donating to or collecting for it.

An additional 17 people were detained in Pakistan, including Rashid Rauf, a British national named by Pakistani intelligence as one of the key suspects. Rauf was picked up along the Pakistan-Â Â Â Â Afghanistan border and is believed to have connections to a senior al-Qaida leader in Afghanistan.

08-16-2006, 02:39 AM

QUOTEThe London plot thickens 
Pioneer.com
Wilson John
Threat of rogue Pakistani nukes is deeply worrying and the connection of its scientists with LeT is ominous

Pakistan-sponsored Jamaat-ud-Dawa's (JuD) armed wing, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), is, once again, under global scrutiny following the uncovering of the diabolical plot in London.

The terrorist group, camouflaged, with generous help from the ISI directorate of Pakistan, as a charity organisation working supposedly for the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in PoK, is said to be deeply involved in the latest Al Qaeda's plot to do a repeat of 9/11. There is therefore a renewed interest in the group's ideology, hierarchy and reach. It is slowly dawning on those who control and run the 'War on Terror' that JuD can threaten the western world with as much ferocity, and ease, as the group has been targeting India for the past decade.

In the frantic rush for investigating linkages of various terrorist groups, including LeT, in the London Plot, what should be kept in mind is LeT's interest in using nuclear or radioactive weapons for achieving their stated objectives of jihad, the establishment of Islamic supremacy in the world. On February 6, 2004, respected English daily of Pakistan, Daily Times, quoted LeT supreme and ideologue Hafiz Mohammad Saeed as saying that "Atomic weapons, traditional weapons, a strong army and voluntary mujahideen are obligatory for jihad and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa will continue protecting and arranging these resources for jihad against Hindus."

What Saeed says is worth repeating for reasons other than the nuclear threat. He said: Muslims throughout the world have a bond of kalma. From Lahore to Srinagar, Kabul to Baghdad, Basra to Chechnya, they are fighting under this kalma, but the infidel world doesn't like it and describes it as terrorism. He said only jihad could guarantee the security of Pakistan and the whole Islamic world.

Not surprisingly, Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Pakistani rogue nuclear physicist who has made the world more unsafe by freely indulging in the sale and purchase of nuclear materials, came in for special praise from LeT chief. Saeed said: "He shared the technology for the supremacy of Islam and he acted on the Allah's command. He is our hero, will remain our hero, and the Government can't undermine his honour under American pressure," the Daily Times quoted Saeed.

The connection between Lashkar and AQ Khan is more substantial. Highly respected Pakistani columnist, Khaled Ahmed has referred to Khan's presence in massive rallies and annual congregations organised by LeT at Muridke.

AQ Khan attended these meetings not alone but along with his other colleagues in the nuclear establishment, including Sultan Bashiruddin Mehmood, former director of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and the man who enriched uranium at Khushab (Washington Times, December 30, 2003). Another key nuclear scientist who had been a regular visitor to LeT rallies was Abdul Majid, a close associate of AQ Khan. Both Bashiruddin and Majid believed that Pakistan should generously help other Muslim nations with nuclear technology and materials.

But what feared the US most were their linkages with Osama bin Laden. After the bombing of Kabul in October-November 2001, the US troops discovered documents in a safe house, which indicated that Majid and Bashiruddin had met, Osama bin Laden. Washington Post (March 3, 2002) reported that the then CIA chief George Tenet had rushed to Pakistan to investigate the matter. The US fear was that Osama bin Laden might have procured the technology and materials to build nuclear or radiation weapons. Bashiruddin, who spent 20 years of his career at Kahuta enriching uranium, was an ideal source for such knowledge transfer.

Although Bashiruddin denied discussing nuclear matter with Osama bin Laden, CIA's search of his charity organisation, Umma Tameer-e-Nau (UTN) in Kabul disclosed documents relating to the construction of nuclear weapons. According to Khaled, the investigators also found letters exchanged between UTN and LeT.

Two other pieces of evidence strengthen the suspicion that LeT in future might use nuclear or radioactive materials or resort to attacking nuclear installations. This is a real fear in India.

A French-born terrorist named Willie Brigitte arrested in Australia, three years ago, admitted being a member of LeT and disclosed that his targets were the electrical grid, Lucas Heights nuclear research centre outside Sydney and other military facilities and natural-gas pipelines. Investigations revealed that Brigitte and his associate, Faheem Lodhi, were funded and controlled by a LeT commander by the name Sheikh Sajid. A piece of evidence which Brigittee disclosed to the investigators was that he had seen a Chechen terrorist Abu Salah experimenting with chemical weapons in a LeT camp.

The second, but no less significant link in the chain of evidence against LeT's interest and involvement in procuring and using nuclear or radio-active materials, is Joe Padilla alias Abdullah Al Muhajir, he was planning to detonate a radioactive bomb in US on the orders of Al Qaeda. Padilla had trained how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion devices at LeT safe houses in Pakistan. His handler was Abu Zubaida, a key Al Qaeda operative. Zubaida was arrested in 2002 from a LeT safe house in Faisalabad, Pakistan.

Naresh · 08-16-2006, 03:58 AM

Taking credit, raising questions - Hussain Haqqani <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/liar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='liar.gif' />

Pakistani officials hastened to take credit for the role of Pakistanâs intelligence services in helping uncover the alleged terrorist plot that recently led to several arrests in London and Pakistan and resulted in heightened security at British and American airports. These officials were probably seeking praise for Pakistanâs cooperation in the U.S.-led global war against terrorism and attempting to silence critics who claim that Pakistan is not doing enough to combat terrorism. There was also a concerted Pakistani effort to link the alleged plotters to Al-Qaeda, to point out that the ringleaders were British citizens albeit of Pakistani descent and to suggest that Al-Qaedaâs activities are still centered in Afghanistan.

Judging by international media coverage, the objectives of Pakistani officials were not fulfilled. In fact, the Pakistani rush to take credit seemed to have backfired. There was, undoubtedly, the usual diplomatic acknowledgement from the British Foreign Office and the U.S. State Department of Pakistanâs help in counter-terrorism efforts. But in the court of public opinion, Pakistanâs role was questioned more than appreciated. Within days of the London arrests, major international papers ran headlines critical of Pakistan. âPakistanâs Arrests Leave U.S. Uneasy,â declared the Los Angeles Times, adding âDetentions in the alleged British plot provide a reminder that a key Asian ally is home to many of Americaâs foes in the war on terrorism.â

The Wall Street Journal report appeared with the title, âPakistan Stays a Terrorism Source: Extremist Islamic Groups Rooted in Kashmir Dispute Join Attacks against West.â A headline in the New York Times read, âAccounts After 2005 London Bombings Point to Al Qaeda Role from Pakistan.â Londonâs Sunday Times minced few words, wondering out loud, âJust whose side is Pakistan really on?â In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald proclaimed, âPakistan missing link in extremist battleâ

Pakistanâs predicament was explained in another New York Times headline, which read, âPakistanâs Help in Averting a Terror Attack Is a Double-Edged Sword.â In their effort to claim credit for their efforts in cracking this particular case, Pakistani officials had ended up drawing attention to the critical question: Why, after five years since 9/11 and General Musharrafâs alliance with the U.S., do terrorists still converge in or operate out of Pakistan? No one is denying that Pakistanâs intelligence agencies helped catch the alleged plotters in the recent London conspiracy.

But Al-Qaeda operatives are still being found in Pakistan. New recruits from the Pakistani diaspora, including those with British citizenship, keep coming to or emerging from Pakistan to undertake or plot terrorist acts, Al-Qaeda and its ilk still seem to think of Pakistan as a possible safe haven, notwithstanding the arrest of many individual terrorists there. The New York Times pointed out, âIt is not the first time that Pakistan has proved to be fertile soil for the cultivation of terrorist activity. This weekâs London case is the sixth major terrorist attack, either consummated or attempted over the last three years, to be linked to Pakistan in some fashion. It has again raised the question of whether Pakistan is doing enough to rein in terrorist groups operating on its soil.â

The same NYT report cited Christine Fair of the United States Institute of Peace to point out that it may not be fair to blame Pakistan for a plot in which most of those arrested were born in Britain. âBut Pakistan remains a place where you can find the ideology of terrorism and get the training to carry it out, and thatâs a huge problem,â she said. According to the paper, âPakistan has long used extremist Islamist groups as tools to expert pressure on its neighbors, India and Afghanistan, and that strategy has come with a high price, said Stephen P. Cohen of the Brookings Institution... Much for that reason, for the Bush administration Pakistan remains a crucial but sometimes disappointing partner in the campaign against terrorism. General Musharrafâs vocal support for American counterterrorist efforts has not always been matched by action... While the arrests this week clearly showed some Pakistani cooperation, they also seemed to indicate that terrorist training camps remain active.â

The Wall Street Journal reported, âOver the past year alone, the U.S., Lebanon, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom have arrested suspected militants who either had trained in Pakistan, or were preparing to do so.â The Los Angeles Times ominously wondered allowed, âThe trail of evidence in the British terrorism investigation is leading to an uncomfortable question for the Bush administration: Is Pakistan â and not Iraq, Afghanistan or some other country â the central front in the war on terrorism?â

Those raised within Pakistanâs simple-minded cantonment culture will immediately attribute these queries and comments as the work of an âIndo-Zionist lobbyâ in the Western media. But the Musharraf regimeâs problem stems from its policy of distinguishing between Pakistani Jihadi groups working against India or Afghanistan and international terrorists such as Al-Qaeda. Many Pakistani Jihadi groups have started serving as intermediaries and facilitators for potential recruits to new âbaby al-Qaedasâ âgroups linked ideologically but not structurally to the movement led by Osama bin Laden.â

Pakistan remains the center of ideological extremism and the home of a growing Muslim culture of grievance and anger against western domination or real and perceived injustices against Muslims. Musharraf has done little to change the overall environment of hatred towards Jews, Christians and Hindus and the view that Muslims are victims of a global conspiracy, which can best be fought with unconventional war or terrorism. It is important to note that Bin Laden added Hindus to Jews and Crusaders as enemies of Islam in his last recorded statement. Bin Laden obviously knows the value of using the anti-Hindu feeling of Pakistanis in his global Jihad.

Pakistanâs home-grown Jihadi groups, raised to fight in Jammu and Kashmir, have been active in Britain and other parts of the world for many years, raising funds and seeking recruits from the Pakistani diaspora. Young Muslims resentful over a range of issues have gravitated to Pakistan-based groups as much as Al-Qaeda and its affiliates. Omar Saeed Shaikh -- convicted of involvement in the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl -- spent part of his youth in England and went to the London School of Economics before volunteering for Jihad in Bosnia and Kashmir. He was imprisoned in India and was sprung from an Indian prison as a result of the hijacking of an Indian plane to Kandahar in December 1999. Two British citizens of Pakistani descent were involved in terrorist acts in Israel in 2004.

There is, therefore, an established pattern of recruitment by international and Pakistani Jihadi groups from among Muslims in Britain. What seems to have changed now is that British Jihad recruits are not content with fighting in localized conflicts like Chechnya, Palestine Bosnia or Kashmir. They are thinking of ways to bring the Jihad to Britain and the United States, considering these major powers responsible for the misery of the worldâs Muslims.

Instead of focusing their energies on media spin and trying to take credit, it is time Pakistanâs rulers recognized the deep roots of the Jihadist ideology and networks within Pakistan. The state apparatus must acknowledge its error in tolerating and encouraging extremism in the past and then set about methodically dismantling the infrastructure of extremism. If that is not done, Pakistan will continue to remain in the eye of the terrorist storm.

E-mail: hhaqqani@nation.com.pk

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Naresh · 08-16-2006, 04:20 AM

The global war among fascists - Shireen M Mazari

The Bush-Blair combine will never be satisfied with Pakistan, no matter what it does. That is why while Bush was effusive in his thanks to Blair on unveiling an alleged plot to blow up airliners across the Atlantic, there was no thanks coming forth to the Pakistani leadership which not only unearthed the alleged plot --and so nicely timed for the Bush-Blair combine given the increasing criticism of their support to Israeli aggression, akin to war crimes on a massive scale, against Lebanon. So having put the Muslim world on the defensive once again, it should hardly surprise anyone that the figure of 1,100 Lebanese dead may have been missed by the Ummah.

Of course, it does not come as a surprise for most of us in Pakistan to hear of the born and bred British Muslims who suddenly were referred to as Britons of Pakistani origin. That the British press fails to make similar reference to British Muslims who bring sporting honour to their country and who also have similar "Pakistani" connections is now taken as a given and frankly after a while one just shrugs one's shoulders with a bitter sense of hopelessness in the way references to Pakistan are made in the US and Europe.

After all, out of all the Muslim World, it is only Pakistan, which despite its myriad problems, withstood tremendous pressure over decades and acquired nuclear capability. And it is Pakistan that commands respect on the Muslim street, including the Arab street. And it is Pakistan that, despite its many scars, continues to rightfully challenge the bully on the block, India, and dares to still pursue some level of an external policy that sits uncomfortably with the US --just as our nuclear status sits uncomfortably with the Christian West. I use the word "Christian" deliberately because we are descending into an international relations framework where religion is being used to define political interaction amongst states.

It has been barely five years since the collective international coalition against terrorism, spearheaded by the US, came into being with Muslim states like Pakistan in the front lines. The war on terror is now in a state of flux. The degeneration of this laudable international objective began with the US-led, "coalition of the willing"-supported invasion of Iraq and has now reached a new low point within the context of "collective responsibility" being exercised by Israel supported by the Bush-Blair combine to kill innocent Arabs in Lebanon.

Even in definitional terms, the US has altered the paradigm of the war against terror to a war against "Islamic fascists". This is interesting because fascist, according to the dictionary definition, refers to: "anyone with extreme right wing, nationalistic, etc. views or methods" --and fascism is linked to "extreme nationalism, militarism, restrictions on individual freedom, anti-communism", etc. Of course, religion was not linked to fascism till now, although the role of the Christian Church in Italy and Germany under Mussolini and Hitler was questionable, at the very least. But now Bush has referred to the fight against "Islamic fascists" as opposed to a global war on terror regardless of the religion of the terrorists. Of course, in terms of the definitions cited above from the Chambers English Dictionary, Bush could be described as a born-again Christian fascist and Israel is definitely reflecting Zionist fascism --so is the war on terror descending into a war amongst those professing differing brands of fascism?

The most ironic is Israel's adoption of policies reflecting the European geopolitical thinking central to fascism. The idea of a Greater Israel seems little different to the geopoliticians' notion of "Lebensraum" or "Living Space" --that great nations have the right to expand their frontiers to their natural limits. In the process, other states and nations are simply obstacles to be removed, one by one. Thus we have Israel, through war, taking over Palestinian lands as well as Syrian, Jordanian and Lebanese territories. A supervised Gaza Strip was demarcated for the Palestinians to satisfy or rather befool the world, but unfortunately the results of democracy created a spanner in the Israeli-US plan. A fascist audacity marks the Israeli leadership's attacks against civilians in the Gaza Strip, including innocent picnickers, and the kidnapping of elected leaders of the Palestinian people. All this in the name of "collective responsibility" to go with the notion of "coalitions of the willing" --all of which function outside of the UN Charter and the notion of collective security embodied in it. Yet the attempt is being made to tell the world that it was the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hizbullah that actually caused the violence in the Middle East.

After the passage of a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution for Lebanon, an Israeli spokesperson had the gall to say that Israel's continuing military carnage in Lebanon was supportive of the ceasefire's viability because the area would be rid of Hizbollah. Given that Hezbullah is Lebanese, there is a murderous logic here because of course if everyone is killed, a ceasefire is certainly easier to maintain. A study of twentieth century European history would help explain the direction of Israeli policy in the Muslim World.

As for the fascism of the Bush Administration, it is only too evident --from the abuse of Muslim prisoners to the targeting of Muslim Americans under the guise of security to the press censorship to the general hell that has been unleashed in Iraq. And the Blair government is no better. Only recently some innocent Bangladeshis' homes were raided and Muslims arrested only to be released later because there was no evidence linking them to any terror network. So what if they were abused for a while at the hands of the British police. And tales of prisoner abuse at the hands of the British forces in Iraq are also commonplace now. And it is ironical to hear how a major airline terrorist attack was foiled when terrorism by Israel with countless innocent Lebanese and Palestinians being killed for decades, and most recently over the last month. But they are the nameless victims with Arab life being regarded as cheap.

And what of the so-called "Pakistani connection"? If the truth be told, these extremists serve the Bush-Blair agenda very well while not only aggravating the problems of the Ummah but also undermining the genuine struggle of groups like Hamas or Hizbullah or the Kashmiri freedom fighters, all of whose struggles still have a legitimacy under prevailing international law and the UN Charter. So one really wonders who is connected to whom! Meanwhile, there is presently a strange "American connection" whereby a group of Hollywood persons arrived into Pakistan, shot for a film and left with no permission from the government of Pakistan. Given that we are witnessing a global war amongst fascists, how were so many Americans able to enter and leave Pakistan undetected when we Pakistanis are scrutinised not only by foreign immigrations but also by our own immigration! And who really knows what Dan Futterman and the other so-called Hollywood folk's agenda really was in Pakistan --especially since the US has privatised so much of its now "anti-Islamic fascists" war. Surely we need to be more vigilant at our entry points.

Finally, we Pakistanis need to shed a few more tears and hold back on our bombast to show our sensitivity to our people's plight and the tragedies that strike us. That is why the Lebanese premier's public tears were a sign of his greatness because he felt the tragedy of his people. I don't recall any tears on our leaders' faces at the fall of Dhaka or at the shooting down of the Atlantique. Shows a lack of sensitivity and care rather than courage, n'est-ce pas?

The writer is director general of the Pakistan Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Email: smnews80@hotmail.com

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08-18-2006, 01:33 AM

US airport in 'liquid bomb' alert QUOTEA security guard first spotted the bottle in the bag, Tri-State Airport authority chief Jim Booton said.

Officials say the woman is of Pakistani origin and was travelling on a one-way ticket to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Chris Yates from Jane's Aviation told the BBC that both tests were extremely sensitive.

The likelihood that a container that had not come into contact with explosives would come up positive on both tests was extremely low, he said.

The incident comes a week after UK intelligence officers say they foiled a plot to blow up planes using liquid explosives.

**acharya** · (This post was last modified: 08-18-2006, 05:32 AM by acharya.)

Check the Hindu temples in Pakistan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51LiUJfLkKY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wy-gLNSbU88
Truth about Bollywood

Check the northern areas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIoPEf9h4QY...related&search=

08-18-2006, 06:02 AM

QUOTETruth about Bollywood
This they may be used for recruiting.

08-18-2006, 10:11 PM

QUOTEWhiff of change?

Thereâs a whiff of change in the air. Rumour has it that plans for a neutral-looking caretaker government are being drawn up. Our mole reports that the real PMâs spies have been calling up some would-be caretakers across the land to sound them out if and when the time is ripe. It is not known how many have agreed to join the coalition of the willing or when such a set-up will be required


Nuggets from the Urdu press
QUOTEClergy threatens to hit the roads
According to Khabrain Jamaat Ahle Sunnat announced that it had come into possession of an obscure CD from a singer of India which carried the name Ya Ali! In the song also the singer keeps shouting Ya Ali which was an insult to the Great Companion. Chief of Ahle Sunnat Mufti Maqsud thundered that the government should punish the Indian singer quickly or Ahle Sunnat followers will hit the streets and destroy property and thus punish the government.Â <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Jonty Rhodes asked to embrace Islam
According to daily Pakistan when South African fielding expert Jonty Rhodes was coaching the Pakistan cricket team in Lahore he was asked to embrace Islam. He was taken to Raiwind where he listened to the sermons of the clerics in rapt attention. The man who worked on him was Pakistanâs top batsmen Muhammad Yusuf who used to be Christian. Yusuf was keen that Jonty Rhodes should become a Muslim even if the Pakistani cricketers did not become good fielders.Â

Motiur Rehman was âghaddaarâ
Daily Pakistan reported Nawaz League as saying that that the remains of pilot trainer Motiur Rehman should not have been sent to Bangladesh where the dead man had earned the highest bravery award. Rehman was a ghaddaar and was responsible for the martyrdom of Nishan-e-Haider air force pilot Rashid Minhas while trying to escape to India in 1971. League leader Zulfiqar Khosa said the return of the dead body had thrown the heroism of Minhas in doubt.

Lashkar Islami lays down the law
According to Khabrain Lashkar Islami of the rebel warrior Mangal Bagh Afridi in occupation of Bara in Khyber Agency had laid down the law that anyone not saying his namaz in the mosque would pay a fine of Rs 500; anyone singing or playing music would be fined Rs 10,000 and anyone found with alcohol would pay Rs 50,000. Anyone opposing Lashkar Islami would be fined Rs one million. Those not saying namaz would be forced to spend three days in Tablighi Jamaat.

Umar Abdullahâs âharam murghiâSarerahe stated in Nawa-e-Waqt that Held Kashmir leader Umar Abdullah had said that he enjoyed eating chicken (murghi) which was not slaughtered the Islamic way (jhatka). Sarerahe rejoined that his grandfather Sheikh Abdullah became ghaddaar and Umar had eaten haram murghi. His father Farooq Abdullah had married a Christian and Umarâs sister had married a Hindu, all of which was pleasure from haram things.
Â
Death for not saying namaz
Reported in Jang founder of Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia Sheikh Abdullah Ali announced in Mogadishu that anyone not seen to be saying namaz would be considered a renegade from Islam and be killed. He was establishing a new Islamic court when he asserted that Islamic law gave death to those not saying namaz. He said only with Islamic law will prosperity come to Somalia.

Musharraf, Nawaz and Kargil
Quoting from a recently published book daily Pakistan had ex-military secretary of prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Brigadier Javed Malik saying that Nawaz Sharif promoted Musharraf to meet the plaint of the Urdu-speaking community that their sons were not being promoted and because Musharraf had no biradari. Musharraf presented a wrong picture of Kargil which had begun even as Nawaz Sharif was shaking hands with prime minister Vajpayee in Lahore. Musharraf said his hand was on the gullet of India. Kargil was a misadventure of Generals Musharraf, Aziz and Mahmood. When Nawaz Sharif asked Musharraf what if the Indians did not back down, he was told that Indians could not afford to risk confrontation.

Qadianis making their own state!
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt clerics of Khatm Nabuwwat movement had gathered in Chiniot and strongly protested that the Qadianis of Chenab Nagar had started constructing a state of their own by buying up new land and putting barbed wire around it. They accused them of converting the surrounding population and carrying out secret activities.

JUI and Jamaat Islami divorced or separated?
Writing in Daily Express Asar Chohan stated that a kind of divorce was gradually taking place between the JUI of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Jamaat Islam of Qazi Hussain Ahmad. It was difficult to say if it was a talaq rajâi (reversible) or mughallaz (wrong but permanent). There was a history of differences between the two parties. The founder of JUI and father of the present leader, Mufti Mehmood, had issued a fatwa against Maulana Maududi for insulting the Companions. After Maududi supported Ms Fatima Jinnah, Mufti Mehmood denounced it and supported Ayub Khan.

08-19-2006, 01:01 AM

Five security personnel killed by landmines

www.dawn.com/2006/08/18/top9.htm

08-19-2006, 02:58 AM

US likely to seek tighter security at portsQUOTEWASHINGTON, Aug 17: US authorities may ask Pakistan to tighten security at ports after unlisted items in two containers shipped from the country caused a security alert at Seattle port.

The panic began when US customs agents peered through the containers using a gamma-ray device, and detected items that did not match the manifest. <!--emo& Big Grin

--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Naresh · 08-19-2006, 03:18 AM

Ghosts may come visiting us again! <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' />

This seems to be a season of letters as another one has been sent to General Musharraf - a letter far more potent in content and far more relevant in appraisal of the national scenario as compared to the one that had been sent some time ago. The authors of this letter include a former caretaker prime minister, two former chief justices of the supreme court, two former speakers of the national assembly, a former governor of Balochistan, a former chief minister of Balochistan and a former deputy speaker of the national assembly.

The letter has referred to the emergence of âfault linesâ in the underpinnings of the federation during the tenure of office of General Musharraf. The letter further states that provincial discord and disharmony are being exacerbated by single-minded pursuit of policies that âmust be subjected to urgent scrutiny as they pose a serious threat to the integrity, solidarity and well being of Pakistanâ. Referring to the military action currently undergoing in Balochistan and the federally administered tribal areas, the authors of the letter fear that this may ârevive the ghosts of memories from the days of East Pakistanâ.

The letter also reminds the President about the mauling of the Constitution by his office, unfulfilled promises to the people of Pakistan, unbearable inflation, rampant lawlessness, increased graft and corruption and no improvement in agriculture, public utility services, public education, health care and population welfare. The letter states: âThe fiscal space allowed to your government after 9/11 is not far from being exhausted and the taint and odour of corrupt practices that you seemed to disdain are all around youâ.

A telling indictment, indeed! A mortal of lesser âmettleâ would at least order an immediate enquiry into the spate of allegations contained in the communication. But, then, those dreaming with such optimism do not understand a peculiar mindset dictated by the conviction that it can think no wrong, do no wrong. Therein may be hidden the âghostsâ that the letter refers to.

The tragedy of the State of Pakistan is that the generals have been allowed to get away with just about every thing - including the loss of half of the country! As I have written earlier in some of my columns, the judiciary has had a major role to play in this unfortunate state. By using the coinage the âlaw of necessityâ, they provided a safe haven for the generals to rule as they pleased and a pathway for them to walk away when they so desired. No wonder, they consider themselves to be immune to the law of the land and the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan. Unfortunately, in being able to do so with such devastating results, the courts proved to be their primary protectors.

The military action in Balochistan and the tribal areas that the ISPR does not tire of denying, is reminiscent of the days preceding the East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) tragedy. There was a military action there that the ISPR denied. There was a breakdown of law and order that the ISPR denied. There was rampant carnage and loot that the ISPR denied. By and large, the people of âEast Pakistanâ had risen against the corrupt domination of the other half of the country and they were all over the streets and roads voicing their opinion loud and clear. This, too, the ISPR denied. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/liar.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='liar.gif' /> For them, every thing was honky dory. It is a different matter that the people of Pakistan learnt of the Pakistan Armyâs surrender before the Indian command on that fateful day of December, 1971 from external broadcasting stations. In this instance, the ISPR could not deny that the tragedy had, indeed, occurred, but tried vainly to mitigate its impact.

The story does not end there. The mindset that I am talking about does not believe in a rational thought process. If you need a proof of that, just go back a few years and you have Kargil - an ideal making of another âEast Pakistanâ. The generals got away with that, too! Consequence to the Kargil crisis, the unconstitutional and illegal action to remove an elected prime minister of the country, putting him on trial and having him imprisoned was condoned. Along with the generals, the role of the judiciary again comes under close scrutiny and a fair amount of criticism. Is it that the members of the erstwhile judiciary who have penned their names on the letter are trying to atone for the past deeds of their profession?

The separation of the offices of the âPresidentâ and the âChief of the Army Staffâ is a desirable thing as long as it does not present the office of the âPresidentâ on a platter to General Musharraf.

The mandate that he talks about was secured, as rightly pointed out in the letter, from assemblies âperceived by the public to be no more than a rubber stampâ. Generals before him have done that, too, with horrific consequences for the country. This has to come to an end and the time to do that is now. The principle of the armyâs non-interference in politics, as per the provisions of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, has to be upheld. If steps are not taken to ensure that now, the ghosts of the past may come visiting us again, soon!

E-mail: raoofhasan@hotmail.com

Cheers <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' />

Naresh · 08-19-2006, 12:40 PM

Wishing away reality - Irfan Husain

WHEN the news about a suspected plot to blow up a number of airliners over the Atlantic broke last week, I remember saying to myself: âI hope thereâs no Pakistani connection for a change...â Wishful thinking. As I surfed the Internet, apart from reading the local dailies here in Canada where I am on a brief visit, it became clear that not only is there a Pakistani connection, virtually all the suspects hauled up for interrogation are of Pakistani origin. <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' />

And why does this not come as a surprise? Because over the last few years, Pakistan has earned a well-deserved reputation for being a hotbed of religious extremism that has, wantonly and wickedly, used terror as a weapon to further its agenda at home and abroad. And unfortunately, many young Britons of Pakistani descent have fallen prey to the extremist groups that operate freely in a tolerant society which allows anybody to preach his faith.

In Pakistan, we are in a constant state of denial about the unacceptable level of violence associated with religion prevalent in our society. Since Ziaâs days when he encouraged the rise of sectarian and ethnic militias, the country has been racked by an unending spiral of violence.

And the state, far from cracking down on those who use religion to kill and maim, has sought to exploit these very groups as proxies in Afghanistan and Kashmir.

This has given these gangs a legitimacy that has emboldened them to recruit and raise money openly.

Indeed, they are now so deeply embedded in our society at so many levels that it is hard to see how the tide can be turned, even if any government in the foreseeable future does muster up the political will and the courage to put the genie of extremism back into the bottle.

Many people in Britain are sceptical about the alleged plot, given the recent track record of the UKâs intelligence agencies. But whatever evidence is finally produced, the arrests do suggest that there is a strong nexus between Islamic organisations in Pakistan, and young Muslims in Britain of Pakistani origin. One feature of extremist groups is that as soon as they are banned, they simply change their names and are back in business.

Thus, the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi has morphed into the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, with Hafeez Mohammad Saeed being the leader of both organisations. Although government spokesmen have tried to distance him from the alleged plot, it is hard to see how a militant group like the Lashkar can become a peaceful welfare organisation overnight.

For the first time, the Tablighi Jamaat is being accused of being a front for terrorist outfits. This organisation has long been viewed as a non-violent collection of devout Muslims whose primary concern is to spread Islam.

At its huge annual public gathering in Raiwind, it attracts hundreds of thousands of the faithful in what is described as the biggest congregation of Muslims outside Makkah. But here is what Alex Alexiv, vice-president for research at the Washington-based Centre for Security Policy says about the Jamaat: âAll Tablighis preach a creed that is hardly distinguishable from the radical Wahabi-Salafi jihadist ideology that so many terrorists share...â

But what attracts so many young Pakistani-British citizens to such a stern creed? As in the train bombings of 7/7, those alleged to be planning a murderous (and suicidal) attack on as many as 10 airliners are mostly of Pakistani origin. For one thing, out of the UKâs 1.6 million Muslims, 750,000 are of Pakistani descent. And the vast majority of them are originally from small villages in Azad Kashmir and Punjab, and thus share a conservative, rural background. Most are from homes where either or both parents are uneducated.

Torn between the values of a conservative home environment and a secular, liberal society, they often turn to militancy in their search for an identity. And a handful take that fateful step and become members of terrorist groups.

Perhaps this explanation is too facile for what is obviously a complex phenomenon. But clearly, alienation from, and rejection of, Western values is at work here.

Despite the amazing degree of tolerance and acceptance of diversity that characterises multicultural Britain today, people are getting fed up of the disruption being caused by their Muslim community. In the wake of the terrorist threat, flights were cancelled and delayed across airports in Britain. Although the check-in lines were endless, people were surprisingly good-natured about the delays.

Nonetheless, a growing chorus of voices is now suggesting âpassenger profilingâ of intending travellers: obviously harmless people would be fast-tracked into the departure lounge, while those matching a certain profile would be subjected to close scrutiny. While this would no doubt lead to charges of racial profiling, how else are law-abiding citizens supposed to get on with their lives?

In a recent survey of Muslims living in Britain, an overwhelming majority said they considered themselves Muslims first, and British next. In a secular society, this has come as a big surprise, specially considering the numerous social benefits received by the thousands of Muslims who do not contribute to the system. And 40 per cent of Muslims would like to see Shariah law imposed in Britain. Despite this, 63 per cent of all Britons have a favourable impression of Muslims.

Back in Pakistan, the government is doing its best to put a favourable spin on its role in disrupting the alleged plot. Poor Tasnim Aslam, the Foreign Office spokesperson, has been pleading for greater recognition of Pakistanâs efforts combating terrorism. But she and her bosses fail to realise that while they are determined to see only one side of the coin, the rest of the world is bent on examining the other side very closely indeed. And what they see is the country to which would-be suicide bombers travel to receive indoctrination and training. Canadian, American, British and French newspapers that I have been reading recently have all carried articles and leaders about the now infamous âPakistan connectionâ.

It is clear that our current policy of stout denial fools nobody. Anybody visiting Pakistan now sees a country in the grip of growing religious fervour. We have unwittingly created an environment where extremism and terrorism breed and multiply. Unless we pull out our heads from the sand, we will not see the extent of the problem. And if we cannot see the problem, we cannot even begin to solve it.

Cheers <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' />

08-19-2006, 11:08 PM

Silence for security forces at the crossroads of terror
By Isambard Wilkinson in Bahawalpur (Filed: 19/08/2006)

If there is a crossroads of terror in Pakistan, it must be the town of Bahawalpur in southern Punjab.

Home of at least one known terrorist organisation and several radical madrassas, or religious schools, Bahawalpur has became a focus for investigations in Pakistan following the foiling of an alleged plot to blow up aircraft flying across the Atlantic.

Normally the local people might take pride in the actions of the jihadists. Only last month the relatives of one of the London bombers, Shehzad Tanweer, commemorated his death in a nearby village.

But tongues have been silenced by the presence of the Pakistani security forces.

Hafiz Allah Bukhsh, 75, who is the father of the alleged founder of one of Pakistan's most notorious terrorist groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed (the Army of Mohammed), has been told to shut up and many of the town's jihadis have been arrested or have gone to ground

On Thursday he was reported as claiming that a British suspect arrested in connection with the aircraft plots, Rashid Rauf, who is related to him by marriage, had been a member of the Army of Mohammed.

Yesterday, in the company of a knot of burly mullahs and plain-clothed security agents, he denied that he had made the remarks and confined himself to saying: "I only heard about the connection to my family yesterday.

"I have not seen my son's face for four years," said Mr Bukhsh, tears summoned to his cheeks.

"There is an injustice in this world. I brought my children up as religious men and religious men can do no wrong."

According to Mr Bukhsh, one of his sons, a brother-in-law and two sons-in-law have either been arrested or have gone into hiding since the Army of Mohammed was linked to the alleged aircraft plot.

Mr Bukhsh hails from a lower class and destitute part of Bahawalpur. His son, Maulana Masood Azhar, alleged to be the founder of the Army of Mohammed, is on the run. He was released from Indian imprisonment in 1999 in exchange for 155 Indian Airlines hostages.

The shabbiness of his Usman-ul-Ali madrassa, outside which Mr Bukhsh rested on a charpai bed, belied the tales told of riches having been bestowed on the group by the Pakistan security services to carry out jihad against India.

Bahawalpur, a rag-tag town set in the Punjab's hinterland, is the hub of a network of relationships between well-known terrorist groups and murkier splinter groups that are thought to share responsibility for carrying out atrocities ranging from the murder of the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and high profile attacks in India to hijacking aircraft.

In October 2001, eight gunmen entered St Dominic's Church in Bahawalpur and massacred 17 Pakistani Christians.

Bahawalpur and its environs are still proving to be a source of jihadis. Pakistan's most wanted man, Matiur Rehman, 30, comes from Bahawalpur. He is thought by US security officials to have been planning a spectacular attack this year to mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks.

American intelligence officials have named Rehman as a suspected mastermind behind the alleged aircraft plot and claim that he is linked to al-Qa'eda.

An alleged former leader of the Lashkar-e-Jangvi terrorist group, he is wanted in connection with an assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003 and has a Â£90,000 reward on his head.

In recent days Pakistani officials have offered conflicting views on whether or not Rehman has been arrested.

A senior government minister confirmed that Rauf, who may hold dual citizenship, lived in Bahawalpur, with his wife and two daughters.

Rauf lived previously in Birmingham where one of his brothers, Tayib, was on a list issued by the Treasury of suspects in the alleged bomb plot.

The people of Bahawalpur, however, do not quickly remember him. "I went to his wedding but no one here knows Rauf well," said Mohammed Sadiq. "The madrassa has no part in these matters."

08-19-2006, 11:55 PM

Bahawalpur,
Also famous for Harem during Islamic period.

08-19-2006, 11:56 PM

1. Mytempdir Link :
For those who enjoys reading fridaytimes for entertainment. <!--emo& Big Grin

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http://www.mytempdir.com/872419

Naresh · 08-20-2006, 03:53 AM

Gloom in Gwadar and conspiracy with the Steel Mills <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' />

KARACHI: The announcement by Dubai Ports World to make an investment of $211 million at Port Qasim for the building and operating of a container terminal is welcome in some ways and worrisome in others. When completed, the terminal will double the capacity of Port Qasim and also significantly increase its revenues. That is welcome news since Port Qasim has never really been able to overtake Karachi Port despite all the plans that were made for it when it was envisaged.

However, the decision comes at a price. Initially, there was talk that Dubai Ports World would be building such a terminal at Gwadar. Although the CEO of the company has assured that the company will look at investing in a facility in Gwadar later on, the fact that it has chosen Karachi instead is significant.

It goes to show the private sector, particularly foreign investors, are wary about putting their money in Gwadar because of the rising uncertainty in Balochistan. Despite claims that all is well, earlier this month the government also offered to provide protection to foreign investors who were wishing to invest in that troubled province. So far, that offer has got a cold response.

While there may be jubilation amongst the people and land owners of the Port Qasim area - as real estate prices are bound to rise following the setting up of the DPW container terminal there - there is gloom in Gwadar.

This project would have been the catalyst to getting Gwadar off the ground. It may be recalled that Dubai Ports World is the same company that got embroiled in a controversy earlier this year over taking operational control of six US ports.

Dubai Ports World then agreed to postpone its plans to take over management of six US ports after the proposal ignited harsh criticism on Capitol Hill. The strong US reaction over fears that national ports âwould fall into Arab handsâ made the company backtrack.

While conceding defeat, Ted Bilkey, the companyâs chief operating officer, in a statement at the time, said: âWe need to understand the concerns of the people in the US who are worried about this transaction and make sure they are addressed to the benefit of all parties.â

Now that Dubai Ports World has decided to operate in Pakistan, it is an opportunity that the government must capitalize on. There are many who feel that the Port Qasim Industrial Area has the potential to become a world class technology park and this can be achieved with names such as Dubai Ports World coming here.

So far, the government has done the opposite. Instead of encouraging hi-tech non-polluting companies to set up shop here, it has allowed such entities like the Textile City to be located here. This âcityâ envisages a number of polluting factories working in otherwise pristine surroundings. Such a âcityâ could well have been located elsewhere. So much for planning ahead.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy with the nearby Steel Mills continues. The haste with which the government is moving again for the sale of the Steel Mills the second time over is impressive. In contrast, the way it is dragging its feet over finding those responsible for the âerrors of omission and commissionâ of the previous sale (which now stands cancelled) seems puzzling. Is there a link we are missing?

The chairman of the steel mills, a man in uniform, insists that this is a profitable entity that should not be sold. The argument is that privatization should concentrate on the loss-making plans that are a burden on the national exchequer.

However, the present governmentâs success in the privatization program seems to come from selling profitable ventures and not many loss-making ones. In the case of the Steel Mills, it seems someone is in quite a hurry for a sale. The latest salvo from Islamabad has come in the form of âplacedâ articles that argue why the Steel Mills should be sold. Why are we resorting to this?

Cheers <img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' />

08-20-2006, 04:05 PM

There have been media reports in the USA to the effect that some members of the Bush administration are now having misgivings about Pakistan. So far only India had been accusing Pakistan of not taking sufficient measures to control the activities of terrorists stationed inside their territory. Time and again India has pointed out that terrorists operating from within Pakistan are causing trouble on this side of the border. A few months back the Afghan President also leveled similar charges against Pakistan.
With the increase in Taliban activity in Afghanistan particularly in the South, there is now growing concern within the US administration about Pakistan's capability or willingness to contain the activates of the terrorists operating from within its territory.

08-20-2006, 08:24 PM

Ravishji,
Some media and some politicians are always against Pakistan and can see hub of terrorism Pakistan clearly. But there is huge number of politicians, media and public who believes Pakistan is helping US in war against terrorism. Since 1947, Pakistan was in good books of US and media. India was always on wrong side because of Socialist and now socialist cum communist government in power.

But why we care what US thinks, when idiots in India, including politicians, media and movie star looks at Pakistan in a positive light.
What is Indiaâs foreign policy? Occasional drum beat and back to comma.

What Pakistan is offering, India had never offered and when you have communist on driver seat, forget about anything.

08-20-2006, 09:55 PM

Long article in the Daily Telegraph of UK on Tablighi Jamat

Army of darkness
By William Langley, Roya Nikkhah, James Orr, David Bamber and Massoud Ansari in Islamabad (Filed: 20/08/2006)Page 1 of 6
Along the dusty roads, and through the rural towns and villages of the poorer parts of the Islamic world, travel small groups of men from a secretive and little-understood movement called Tablighi Jamaat, carrying what its followers proclaim to be the true word of God.
In so far as it speaks at all to outsiders, the organisation, founded almost 80 years ago, declares itself to be non-political and non-violent. Yet, with increasing and alarming frequency, the name of Tablighi Jamaat is cropping up in the worldwide fight against terrorism.
Several of those arrested on August 9 in connection with the alleged plot to blow up airliners en route from Britain to America, had attended Tablighi study sessions in Britain.
At least two of the 7/7 suicide bombers - Mohammed Siddique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer - had worshipped at a Tablighi-run mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. 
Richard Reid, the failed British shoe-bomber, is known to have Tablighi associations, while the path to violent radicalism of John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban" now serving 20 years for treason, appears to have begun with his contact with Tablighi missionaries.
In America, the activities of the Tablighi have been under close scrutiny for some time. A confidential FBI memo, leaked to a television news network last year, portrayed the group's followers as likely to be particularly susceptible to the terrorist cause. "We have a significant presence of Tablighi Jamaat in the US, and we have found that al-Qaeda used them for recruiting, now and in the past," says Michael Heimbach, the deputy chief of the FBI's international terrorism section. Yet, in Britain, the organisation, its shadowy membership and less-than-explicitly stated aims remain virtually unknown.
It should be otherwise, for, while rival Islamic groups flaunt their reach and power, Tablighi Jamaat - loosely translated as "propagators of the faith" - exercises influence in a more discreet, yet more worrying, fashion. The organisation was founded in British-ruled India in 1927, at a time of growing political friction between Hindus and Muslims that led to the partition of the sub-continent in 1948. Both communities rallied their faithful loudly, and one of the voices that rose above the clamour was that of Muhammed Ilyas Kandhalawi, a scholar and cleric who prescribed a strict code of religious observance. Tablighis, however, were taught that their true security - indeed, their religious duty - lay in recruiting as many followers as possible. No limit was placed on the potential pool of converts, and so, implicitly, the ultimate objective was the Tablighisation of the world. The group, for all the mystique that surrounds it, has been diligent, and, today, with a growing presence in the West, it is viewed by anxious critics as a Trojan horse of Islamic fundamentalism.
It operates legally in both Britain and America, and it should be stated that none of its leading figures is known to have said anything that suggests support for terrorism. Indeed, the Tablighis reject any form of political alignment, restricting their activities, according to the group's founding creed, to prayer and self-improvement through intense study of the Koran. So much so, that some hardline Muslim groups have, in the past, attacked Tablighi Jamaat for its conspicuous failure to take a political stance on issues such as Israel and the Iraq war.
Yet, say Western critics, this passivity is not all that it seems. The group's ideal of a world governed by an ultra-conservative, neo-medievalist form of Islam, in which women are subservient and all laws and customs are based on religious dictates, is barely distinguishable from the wish lists of al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Marc Gaborieau, the head of the School of Indian and South Asian Studies in Paris, and a Western authority on Tablighi Jamaat, says that the group's objective is "the conquest of the world". Less easy to divine, he admits, is the strategy. "It is extremely secretive and suspicious of outsiders and no one at the centre of its activities has been fully identified or has spoken about how it operates. We know that it does not recognise national borders and that, despite its claim to be apolitical, it does have ties with politicians and branches of the military, particularly in Pakistan and Bangladesh."
The modern leadership of the Tablighi is one of its core mysteries. After Kandhalawi's death in 1944, control passed to his son, Muhammed Yusuf, who led a dramatic expansion across the sub-continent until his own death in 1965. It is understood that real power is still held by family members, although how it is exercised, and by whom, remains largely unknown.
"It operates in every sense as a secret society in this country, as much as elsewhere," says Dr Patrick Sukhdeo, the director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity. "Its meetings are held behind closed doors. We don't know who attends them. How much money it has. It publishes no minutes or accounts. It doesn't talk about itself. It is extremely difficult to penetrate."
For all its growth, Tablighi Jamaat has, in one sense, changed little. In the early days, it would send its followers out as missionaries. Working in small groups, with few material possessions, they would walk from village to village, denouncing modernity as blasphemy and calling for a return to the 7th-century origins of Islam and what Kandhalawi perceived to be the purity of the faith. Today, the organisation runs on a global scale - it has about 50,000 followers in America alone - but its missionaries still operate in the traditional way, visiting Muslim community groups and mosques to call for a re-embracing of the faith.
In Britain, the group is run from the 3,000-capacity Markazi Mosque in Dewsbury - built with funds from Saudi Arabia - which also functions as Tablighi Jamaat's European headquarters. Signs around it warn: "Photography prohibited. Unauthorised persons not allowed. Trespassers will be prosecuted." Residential courses for young Muslims are held there and the group sends its missionaries across the Continent. Last week, Shabbir Daji, a secretary and trustee of the Tablighi Jamaat movement and a spokesman for the mosque, denied that the organisation had any links with Islamic extremism. "We are a society that offers information to Muslims on how to reform themselves," he said. "We are not a political organisation and we do not let any brothers speak about politics within the mosque. We do not create those sort of people [terrorists]. We condemn them totally. If we think anyone has an agenda outside of our own, we immediately throw them out of the mosque. We have nothing to hide. We feel very bad and very angry that we are being linked to what is going on. People are putting out information that is untrue. It is not creating a good image in the community, and that is not helpful to our cause."
Local support came from Hanif Moyett, a councillor for Batley, West Yorkshire, and secretary of another Dewsbury mosque. "Their function is to go out into the community and to invite their brothers who have been led astray to embrace their religion again," he said. "They encourage those who are not regular visitors to their local mosques to attend more often. They lead them down the path of good."
The Tablighi appear fully aware of the suspicions they arouse. An account of a meeting held in Stratford, east London, reported yesterday, told of the group's belief that it had been infiltrated by informers, and that the authorities kept flight records of all members who travelled. One official said: "Tablighi is like Oxford University. We have intelligent people - doctors, solicitors, businessmen - but one or two will become drug dealers, fraudsters. But you won't blame Oxford University for that. We are not worried. They can close us down and the effort will continue. We have no fear." The group's ambitions in Britain are, nevertheless, on a grand scale. The Tablighi is in advanced discussions with the London Development Agency (LDA) for the construction of a giant,70,000-capacity mosque complex - Europe's biggest and the centrepiece of an "Islamic Village" in the east London borough of West Ham.
If it goes ahead - at an estimated cost of Â£100 million-Â£200 million - it will become London's biggest religious site. Ken Livingstone, the London mayor, is a supporter, as, it appears, is the LDA and, once again, much of the money is likely to come from the Saudis.
Not everyone is overjoyed. "I think, at the very least, we need to know much more about Tablighi Jamaat," says Dr Sukhdeo. "Who runs it and what it is up to? And I think we need to ask whether we want an unequivocally 'Islamic Village' in London. To me, this is taking us down the path to parallel societies - one mainstream British, the other Islamic - and there ought to be some serious debate about it."
The concerns go farther. Western intelligence - while largely exonerating the Tablighi of direct involvement in terrorism - increasingly sees the group as a key component of the radicalisation of Muslim opinion. In France, according to an intelligence report cited by Le Monde, up to 80 per cent of known extremists have, at some stage, passed through Tablighi ranks, leading to the group being labelled "the antechamber of terrorism" by intelligence officers.
Certainly, there appears to be a none-too-distinct crossover between the Tablighi and recognised terror organisations. Abundant evidence exists that large numbers of Tablighi followers are undergoing training in military-style camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while the Moroccan government - in company with others - has published documents suggesting that home-grown terrorists frequently use the Tablighi Jamaat as a cover, "to hide their identity on the one hand, and to influence these groups and their policies on the other".
For its part, the Philippines government has specifically accused the group of funding Saudi money to Islamic radicals in the south of the country.
When American investigators tackled the case of Iyman Faris, a Pakistan-born American citizen, now serving 20 years in prison for his part in a plot to blow up New York's Brooklyn Bridge, they quickly discovered that he had posed as a Tablighi preacher in order to have an expired airline ticket re-issued in Pakistan. Such is the group's reputation in much of the Islamic world that the travel agent readily made the amendments to the ticket.
American counter-terror agents depict membership of it as, at the very least, a useful measure of fundamentalist leanings. One official told the New York Times: "It's a natural entrÃ©e, a way of gathering people together with a common interest in Islam. Then extremists use that as an assessment tool to evaluate individuals with particular zealousness and interest going beyond what's offered."
John Lindh came into contact with the Tablighi a year after his conversion to Islam in 1998. He travelled with a small group of the organisation's preachers and later, when looking for ways to advance his Islamic studies, was guided by a Tablighi contact to a religious school in Pakistan. From there, he moved into the fighting ranks of the Taliban.
American authorities point to numerous similar cases. In few, if any, can the Tablighi be held directly responsible for its followers becoming jihadis, but the group's pervasive presence and championing of its austere and rigorous form of Islam is widely seen as part of the conditioning process.
"The West's misreading of Tablighi Jamaat's actions and motives has serious implications for the war on terrorism," says Alex Alexiev, the vice-president for research at the Institute for Security Policy in Washington DC. "Tablighi Jamaat has always adopted an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam but, in the past two decades, it has radicalised to the point where it is now a driving force of Islamic extremism and a major recruiting agency for terrorist causes worldwide."
The method, says Mr Alexiev, is simple and is practised wherever the Tablighi operates. After being brought into the organisation by missionaries, promising recruits are typically invited to Pakistan for additional training. There, albeit seemingly without the Tablighi's knowledge or approval, they are liable to be approached by representatives of terror organisations.
Assad Sarwar, 26, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, one of the alleged airline-bombing plotters, is said by his family to have joined Tablighi after dropping out of university. Waheed Zaman, 22, of Walthamstow, east London another of the men detained, is also understood to be a follower. British intelligence is, as one source put it last week, "very interested" in the group, although the prevailing view among the authorities remains that Tablighis have done nothing demonstrably wrong.
But, as Mr Alexiev warns, while law enforcement focuses attention on Osama bin Laden, the war on terrorism cannot be won unless al-Qaeda terrorists are understood to be products of Islamist ideology preached by groups such as Tablighi Jamaat. "If the West chooses to turn a blind eye to the problem," he says, "Tablighi involvement in future terrorist activities at home [in the US] and abroad is not a matter of conjecture; it is a certainty."

Given the group's opaque nature and sprawling global structure, it is hard to assess what dangers it may, either now or in the future, represent. But the time has come, as the critics argue, to end the secrecy.

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