Times : Terrorist threat lowest since 9/11

Terrorist threat lowest since 9/11

David Leppard | The Sunday Times | July 19, 2009

THE threat of an Al-Qaeda attack on Britain is lower than at any time since before the 9/11 attacks, MI5 has privately concluded.

Well-placed officials said there had been discussions in MI5 over the past month about whether to reduce the terrorist threat level from “severe” – where an attack is deemed highly likely – to “substantial”, where it is “a strong possibility”.

The assessment follows Operation Pathway, one of MI5’s biggest counterterrorist campaigns. It led to the arrest of 11 Pakistani men in April.

The men were released without charge. When no explosives or weapons were found, critics said the operation revealed the absence of any terrorist plot against the UK.

Although MI5 declined to comment, evidence of the perceived lower risk came last week when the US navy moored a warship, the Halyburton, in London.

“The Americans wouldn’t dream of [it] if the threat of an attack was high,” a security official said.

LittleAbout : Britain drops deportation orders for Pak students

Britain drops deportation orders for Pak students

July 18, 2009

London, July 18 - ANI: Britain has withdrawn deportation orders on two of the nine Pakistani students who were detained on national security grounds earlier this year.

Both students, Sultan Sher and Janas Khan belong to the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan and were arrested from Leeds and Milton Keynes respectively.

The students are expected to be released once authorities complete the legal formalities, The Nation reports.

Students attorney said that the officials would now go through the usual immigration process, and if their visas are found legal and valid, they will be allowed to continue their study in Britain.

It may be noted that 12 students were arrested in simultaneous raids across Britain in April. Ten out of the 12 taken into custody were Pakistanis, who had came to Britain on students visa.

However, after three weeks of intense interrogation all charges against the students were dropped due to lack of evidence. They were then handed over to the UK Borders Agency for deportation.

Meanwhile, two students Abdul Wahab Khan and Shoaib Khan, Amjad Malik have applied for further bail before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

Their bail plea would be heard on July 27. - ANI