A BRITISH suspect in an alleged plot to blow up trans-Atlantic jetliners has escaped from police custody in Pakistan.
Rashid Rauf, from Birmingham, went on the run after appearing before a judge at a court in the capital, Islamabad.
Khalid Pervez, a city police official, said Rauf managed to open his handcuffs and evade two police guards who were taking him back
to jail in the nearby city of Rawalpindi.
"We do not know how he escaped. But we do know he has escaped and the two policemen (escorting him] have been taken into custody for negligence," Pervez added.
Hashmat Habib, Rauf's lawyer, said that his client had been brought to court in connection with extradition proceedings. His family in the UK said his escape was a surprise to them. "I don't know anything – I'm shocked," said Rauf's father, Abdul Rauf.
Rashid Rauf was arrested in Pakistan in August 2006 after a tip-off from British investigators. He has been described as a key suspect in an alleged plot to blow up airliners flying from Britain to the United States. The scare prompted a major security alert at airports worldwide and led to increased restrictions on carry-on items, especially liquids.
Rauf was arrested and charged in Pakistan with possessing chemicals that could be used in making explosives and with carrying forged travel documents.
However, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court dropped terrorism charges against him and held him accountable only for possessing bomb-making materials and living in Pakistan without valid documents.
Subsequently, a higher court, acting on an appeal by Pakistani authorities, suspended the anti-terrorism court's ruling until January 15. A judge then extended his detention until January 19.
Rauf's lawyer, Hashmat Habib, said his client had been falsely implicated and would prove his innocence.
Rauf arrived in Pakistan soon after his uncle was stabbed to death in 2002.
Britain had asked Pakistan to hand over Rauf in connection with a murder inquiry in Britain that is separate from the alleged terrorism plot. His family in Pakistan said the charges against him were "cooked up". The Crown Prosecution Service sent lawyers to Pakistan this year in an attempt to smooth the way for the extradition in connection with the murder inquiry.
Police sources have indicated that once Rauf was back in the UK he would be questioned by West Midlands police about the murder allegation but could be questioned about "other matters" such as alleged terrorism.
Rauf's brother, Tayib Rauf, was one of 25 people arrested in Britain in connection with the alleged airline scheme, but was later released.
Although the UK and Pakistan do not have an extradition agreement it can be carried out on a case-by-case basis.
