UK frees last 2 Pakistani terror suspects
April 22, 2009
British police have released the two remaining terror suspects who were arrested earlier this month after failing to charge any of the men.
12 Pakistani students were detained in a highly publicized anti-terror operation across northwest England earlier this month and were handed over to Britain's Border Agency for deportation.
The news was an embarrassment for authorities, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown who had claimed that police had moved on to disrupt "a very big terrorist plot" after monitoring the suspects "for some time".
The arrests have also caused turmoil in London-Karachi relations.
British officials have said they seek to deport all but one of the men on national security grounds, the Associated Press reported.
The prospects of deportation, however, have been opposed by Pakistan where Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said on Wednesday that there is no base for such action "if there is no evidence against them."
"They can't be tried in Britain if they are innocent," he added. "They should be allowed to continue their studies and live normal lives."
Meanwhile, British Muslim community is showing discontent as the police failed to show solid evidence of a plot.
Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has criticized the deportations as "a dishonorable way of proceeding".
"Instead of releasing them with good grace and making clear a mistake has been made, the government is seeking to deport them citing a very vague national security threat," MCB spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told the BBC.
FA/MD