Musharraf Appeals To Stop Terror

Pakistan Leader Urges 'Jihad' Against Extremism In National Address

(AP) 

As Musharraf urged the public to reject extremism, Pakistani intelligence officials were responding to a request by British authorities to track down Haroon Rashid Aswat, who reportedly had been in close contact with the suicide bombers.

Aswat, 31, was of Indian origin and may not be in Pakistan, according to two intelligence officials in Islamabad and one in Lahore, all speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media and because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

Two British newspapers — The Times of London and The Guardian — had reported Aswat had been arrested. The New York Times, citing unidentified intelligence and law enforcement officials, reported that police have begun a worldwide hunt for Aswat.

"We have no information about Haroon Rashid Aswat. He has not been arrested in Pakistan," Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said.

Quoting unidentified intelligence sources, The Times of London said Aswat visited the hometowns of all four London bombers and selected their targets. It also reported there had been up to 20 phone calls between Aswat and two of the bombers in the days before the attacks.

Aswat reportedly was once an associate of Abu Hamza al-Masri, the radical imam who is awaiting trial in Britain on charges of incitement to murder. Al-Masri also is wanted in the United States on charges of trying to establish a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon, involvement in hostage-taking in Yemen and funding terror training in Afghanistan.

Aswat's relatives in Batley, near the northern English town of Leeds, which was home to two of the suicide bombers, issued a statement saying they had not heard from him for many years.