Posted on 07/19/2006 12:55:36 PM PDT by Gengis Khan
Who funded Mumbai bombers? UK cops quiz cabbie after Manmohan told Tony it's time
The investigations into last week's serial train blasts in Mumbai that left over 200 people dead and over 800 injured have now been expanded to cover other countries with the Scotland Yard questioning a Coventry-based cabbie serving a nine-year term for raising funds for Lashkar-e-Taiba.
This follows a day after Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spoke with his British counterpart Tony Blair on the sidelines of G-8 summit in St Petersburg in Russia reminding him of his promise to block funds being provided to Lashkar-e-Taiba by wealthy Asian businessmen using fake charities as front.
The cabbie, Mohammed Ajmal Khan, 31, was one of the three arrested on March 1 last year by Britain's anti-terrorism police for conspiring to fund terrorist operations in Kashmir. Khan is now being quizzed on his alleged links with LeT - the terror organisation suspected to be behind the July 11 Mumbai blasts.
Head of Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch, Peter Clarke, on Tuesday confirmed that Mohammed Ajmal Khan is being questioned for his possible links with the LeT's Mumbai module. Clarke said Mohammed Ajmal, as a person of authority in the LeT hierarchy, could call on millions of pounds raised in UK to fund LeT activities. "According to our intelligence, this money could have funded the procurement of explosives and equipment of the type used in (Mumbai) train attacks," he added. The clampdown on individuals and organisations with LeT links had begun last year after the Blair government promised to take stringent action against UK nationals of Asian origin that fund Kashmiri militant organisations.
India three years back had sent a dossier to Blair identifying 14 such individuals in Britain. The dossier named a few Pakistani nationals who are affluent businessmen in the UK.
According to Indian intelligence sources, 8 million pounds are transferred annually by at least 54 UK-based charities to LeT outfits in Pakistan and Bangladesh to finance terrorist training camps, procure technological expertise, purchase explosives and ammunition and buy local intelligence and support for terror attacks.
These businessmen, who claim to be from Azad Kashmir, believe that a continuous conflict in Kashmir will ultimately give the region independence or pave the way for its merger with Pakistan. Most of these businessmen are second or third generation Pakistanis who have now made it to the list of the richest Asians in the UK.
"Migrants in UK think of this as a small contribution to their homeland and donations are often made without any knowledge where the money would end up being used," said Shahid Malik, who runs a public relations firm and is the editor of a popular Asian website.
Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, promised use of new laws to shut down terrorist fund-raising and ordered that the bank accounts of 54 organisations be frozen. At least 23 such charities have been targeted in Bradford and Leeds and over five in London. Most of these charities claim to sponsor education and help in the uplift of women and children in rural Pakistan.
I'd like to nominate this for Worst Written Article of 2006. I can't make heads or tails of it. It's time?
The British government is behind the Indian bombings, right Gengis?
What part could you not make heads or tails of?
If you look at it one way.....yes.
You make a fool of yourself with your own words. :)
Really?
The Brits have long played host to Islamist groups and separatists of all hue. One would have thought they learned their lesson from 7/7 but old habits die hard.
I think if you knew the situation in the UK (or read the article) you would see there is a major crackdown.
I just wish you had the same anger against the IRA (who are the richest and most powerful terrorist group in European history) who get most of their funding from Boston and New York.
In fact even when Britain begged the USA not to meet the IRA's top commander Gerry Adams (because British toddlers were getting their heads blown off for the crime of going shopping with their mothers) he still got a full reception from the White House and Clinton.
This does not mean all America is tainted with this, nor should Britain be tainted by immigrants who use the peace and freedom of my country to hurt others.
I don't blame the political levels of the British govt. At the top, you have always had resolute leaders. But the bureaucracy and judiciary is filled with bleeding hearts who would rather not close charities and organizations wiht suspected terror links for the fear of offending Muslims or some other ethnic group.
I understand how it may look like that across the Atlantic, but it is not that simplistic.
These people don't care about Muslims. The UK doesn't have a constitution so there is debate how far the laws (which can be used against non-Muslims) should go.
As my other post stated, there are complications that have to be ironed out.
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