Pak says Masood kin Rauf, held for UK plot, has bolted

The British High Commission said it was in close touch with Pakistani authorities. Ambassador Robert Brinkely had spoken to Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz. Pakistan has assured Britain that the suspect’s capture was a “priority”.

Several questions have been raised about the circumstances in which Rauf escaped. Though he is considered a terror suspect, he was being guarded by only two policemen.

Rauf, who is of Pakistani origin, was arrested in Bahawalpur in August 2006 on a tip-off from British investigators. He was picked a day before British authorities detained several persons in connection with a plot to attack as many as 10 airliners bound for the US with bombs made with liquid chemicals. Rauf’s brother Tayib Rauf was among those arrested.

Pakistan has described him as a key suspect in the plot, which prompted a major security alert at airports worldwide and increased restrictions on carry-on items. Rauf had denied involvement.

Pakistani authorities recently dropped all terror charges against Rauf but he was accused of possessing forged travel and identity documents and bomb-making materials. Rauf is also believed to have links with the al-Qaeda. He remained in jail awaiting a decision on the British extradition request.

Police said Rauf had managed to open his handcuffs and evade two police guards who were supposed to take him back to jail in Rawalpindi.

“We are still trying to ascertain where he managed to escape,” Shah said, adding it was unclear if Rauf slipped away at the court complex or en route to jail. Superintendent of Police Nasir Aftab said Rauf escaped at 2.30 pm “but the policemen reported the matter very late to us”. The two constables are being interrogated.

Rauf’s “escape” came as Musharraf lifted six weeks of emergency rule that he had justified in part on grounds of fighting Islamic extremism.

Britain had asked Pakistan to hand him over in connection with a 2002 murder inquiry separate from the alleged terrorism plot. But Rauf’s lawyer, Hashmat Habib, sought to block the move, saying the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.

Members of Rauf’s family have appealed to Pakistani authorities to release him, saying he is innocent and desperate to remain with his wife and two daughters.

Habib today described Rauf’s escape as a “mysterious disappearance”, claiming that perhaps Pakistani authorities did not want to hand him over to Britain. “He was under tight security… how is it possible that he escaped like that?” Habib said.

Rauf’s father, who was contacted in Birmingham, said he was shocked at the news. “I don’t know anything,” Abdul Rauf told The Associated Press.

Incidentally, the British government had this week denied media reports that Rauf was to be extradited from Pakistan as part of a secret deal involving the arrest in Britain of suspects wanted by Pakistan. Two men accused of inciting terrorism and murder in Pakistan and of having links with an international terrorist group were ordered held in custody in London last Tuesday.

Faiz Baluch, 25, and Hyrbyair Marri, 39 — both of London — were arrested last week and jointly charged under Britain’s Terrorism Act. Both claim they are peaceful activists calling for the independence of Baluchistan, a troubled province of Pakistan.