Author: Press Trust of India
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: October 14, 2001
WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 13: Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf was until recently on the board of Rabita Trust,
whose assets have been frozen by the US and UK for its links with Osama
bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network.
The Bush administration officials
had warned Musharraf about the impending action and ''encouraged him to
disassociate himself from what they described as its founder's links to
Al Qaeda'', media reports said today.
However, to spare embarrassment
to Musharraf who is under attack by fundamentalist Islamists calling for
holy war against the US, the treasury department only reveals where the
trust is based, The New York Times reported.
It simply says about the trust that
it is ''led by Wael Hamza Jalaidan, a founder of Al Qaeda and its chief
of logistics.
The Rabita Trust, the newspaper
said, has helped resettle refugees from Bangladesh to Pakistan for three
decades.
''It enjoys top-level connections
in Pakistan, including General Musharraf's support. But administration
officials said its secretary general, Wael Hamza Jalaidan, was an original
founder of Al Qaeda along with bin Laden,'' the newspaper says quoting
officials.
However, a spokesman for the Pakistani
embassy in Washington said he had no information about Musharraf's links
to the 'charity.' Also on the list is Yasin al-qadi, a Saudi businessman
who has run a foundation with trustees that have included some of the kingdom's
most prominent families. It has funneled millions of dollars from Saudi
businesses to bin Laden, according to the treasury department.
Although the administration consulted
with European allies before proceeding with the latest names, the paper
said, it did not alert Saudi Arabia ahead of time.
Saudi Arabia is walking the fine
line between its alliance with the US and its commitment of a stark interpretation
of Islam.
The newspaper says the ''new list
puts increased pressure on both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, two countries
whose help the US has solicited in its war against terrorism, to move against
some of their own citizens and financial institutions''.
Until now, the administration's
strategy in attacking the finances of terrorism has been to 'pick the lower
hanging fruit in the beginning,' according to one official. The new list,
however, ups the ante by naming individuals and groups tied to countries
considered vital to the alliance.'' (PTI)
