Pakistan appears to be desperate to show its bit on counter-terror front

Man said to be plotting Cup attack released
Vishwa Mohan | TNN

New Delhi: Maldivian national Iqbal Mohammed, whose arrest was billed by both Pakistan and Interpol as a major success in averting terror attack on the cricket World Cup, has been released on a court order in Male.
    Iqbal was arrested six hours after leaving Karachi for Male via Colombo on March 10. He was wanted by Maldives in connection with a 2007 terror bombing in Sultan Park, Male.
    Though there was no official word either from Islamabad or from the world police body, Iqbal’s release has confirmed Indian security agencies’ doubts over the claim made by both Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik and Interpol chief Ronald K Noble.
    Without identifying Iqbal or giving any other detail, Malik had on March 24 claimed that the arrested terrorist was plotting to target the ongoing World Cup while Noble praised Pakistan for helping authorities make the arrest possible.
    A news agency, AFP, on Sunday reported from Colombo that Maldives Police had released Iqbal, who fled to Pakistan in 2007 after allegedly being involved in a bomb attack in Male.
    “He (Iqbal) is no longer in our custody. He was released over the weekend on a court order,” AFP quoted Maldives Police spokesperson Ahmed Shiyam as saying.
    Indian security officials had raised doubts over Iqbal’s arrest as they believed he was picked up while he was going ahead with a negotiated surrender settlement reached with Maldivian authorities. There was an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) pending against him since 2007 on the request of Maldives.
    A statement, issued by Interpol on March 10, had said Iqbal was arrested six hours after his passport triggered an Interpol alarm as he travelled from Pakistan to Maldives via Sri Lanka. He was identified by Interpol’s Major Events Support Team (IMEST), deployed to Sri Lanka for the cricket World Cup, during a routine check of Colombo airport passenger manifests, it added.
    A security agency official here said, “Iqbal’s arrest on the basis of IMEST’s identification does not mean he was on World Cup terror mission. If he was actually on such a mission, then why did Pakistani authorities not arrest him in Karachi from where he took a flight for Colombo.”
    Interpol has deployed IMESTs in all the three countries – Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka – as part of its support for the cricket World Cup security arrangements. Each team has been providing on the ground support to national police, including conducting real-time checks of Interpol’s global databases.