UK terror brain is JeM chief’s relative

LAHORE: Pakistani intelligence agencies have told their British counterparts that Rashid Rauf, alleged mastermind of the UK terror plot who was arrested on August 9, is related to Maulana Masood Azhar, founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Well-placed Pakistani intelligence officers said Rauf is the brother-in-law of Mohammad Tahir, one of Azhar’s younger brothers, and is not connected to the Jamaat-ul-Daawa or the Lashkar-e-Tayiba as reported by the Washington Post and New York Times.

(Azhar was one of the three terrorists released by India in exchange for 154 passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 held hostage in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in December 1999.)

The officers said Rauf’s frequent text messages to Britain led to his arrest.