By Xinhua
Islamabad : A British national suspected of planning attacks on trans-Atlantic flights, managed to escape from the police custody here, local press reported Sunday.
Rashid Rauf, who was arrested by Pakistani intelligence agents in August 2006 on a tip-off from their British counterparts, escaped Saturday from the district court here, The News daily quoted Islamabad police officer Syed Kalim Imam as saying.
Rauf was brought to the court from the Adiala Jail in nearby Rawalpindi.
Two police officers have been arrested on suspicion of helping the accused flee, Imam said, adding that a departmental inquiry into the incident has also been started.
Rauf, who also has a Pakistani passport, was arrested and charged in Pakistan with possessing chemicals that could be used in making explosives and carrying forged travel documents.
Rauf has remained in jail awaiting a decision on a British extradition request. He arrived in Pakistan soon after his uncle was stabbed to death in 2002, and the British authorities have asked Pakistan to extradite Rauf in connection with the murder inquiry.
His lawyer, Hashmat Habib, has sought to block the move, saying that the two countries did not have an extradition treaty and that Rauf had already been found innocent of involvement in terrorism.
Habib said Saturday that his client had been brought to court in connection with the extradition proceedings, but he did not know how Rauf had escaped.