Fugitive terrorist issue to figure in talks

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, SEPT. 24. The whereabouts of Imad Mughniyeh, suspected to be an ally of Osama bin Laden and a key figure behind the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Kandahar in 1999, are likely to figure in the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Jack Straw's talks with Iranian leaders during his visit to Teheran which began today.

Mughniyeh, who is wanted for his alleged role in a number of hijackings and attacks on Western targets, is believed to be hiding in Iran, according to the British media, and Mr. Straw is expected to raise the issue with the Iranian President, Mr. Mohammad Khatami.

A Foreign Office spokesman told The Hindu that the British Government was co-operating with a number of governments in tracking down the criminals behind the terrorist attacks in America but he declined to comment on details of individual investigations.

Reports stressed that there was no suggestion that the Iranian Government had any links with Mughniyeh or that indeed it was even aware of his movements.

``President Khatami is not thought to have sufficient influence with those sheltering Mughniyeh to persuade them to hand him over, presuming that he has not already left,'' The Times said. It said he was believed to have met some ``key lieutenants'' of Bin Laden in recent months, and quoted intelligence sources as saying that the use of pocket knives and scissors by the hijackers of American planes on September 11 seemed to suggest Mughniyeh's involvement.

``The evidence shows that Mughniyeh has been involved in hijackings since the early Eighties. What we want to know now is how many of those he used in these operations could have been employed again (for the September 11 atrocities in New York and Washington),'' a source told The Times.

Officially, however, the issue was not being talked up and Mr. Straw in his remarks, before leaving for Teheran, chose to emphasise Iran's ``contribution'' to the current U.S.-led international campaign against terrorism.

As the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Iran in more than 20 years, he was careful not to say anything that could be misconstrued by his hosts.

Britain, which has emerged as a key player in Washington's bid to forge a worldwide coalition against terrorists, regards Iran's willingness to come on board as a significant development at a time when there is considerable scepticism in the Muslim world about Western aims.

Mr. Straw emphasised that Iran's most ``important contribution'' was that by coming out publicly against the Taliban for sheltering Bin Laden it had demonstrated ``very vocally that this is not a fight with Islam''.

Many Muslim countries, he said, had been victims of the Taliban's excesses and Iran was one of them.

Iran has ruled out permitting its airspace or bases to be used for strikes against Afghanistan but its willingness to support the political objectives of the U.S.- driven coalition is seen here as a triumph for British diplomacy.

Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Iran and much of the groundwork for softening Teheran was done by London with the Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair taking the initiative to call up Mr. Khatami.

There was speculation on how far Mr. Straw would go in pursuing the Mughniyeh issue, or indeed in what form he would do it.

There were suggestions that the matter might come up in the course of Mr. Straw briefing Mr. Khatami on British intelligence ``suspicions'' about Mughniyeh. Observers were confident that the issue would not ``sour'' the visit.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats today opposed giving blanket support to American retaliation plans.

The party leader, Mr. Charles Kennedy, speaking at the opening of his party's annual conference in Bournemouth, said while terrorism had got to be brought to a ``halt'' it did not mean ``you start giving out blank cheques''.

He also objected to the ``war rhetoric'' saying: ``War is not the word; nor is crusade.''

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