Afghanistan denies U.K. terror plot link

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's foreign ministry on Sunday denied any Afghan al-Qaida connection to a plot to blow up jetliners over the Atlantic, rejecting a Pakistani allegation.

"(Afghanistan) has become an inhospitable environment for al-Qaida to commission any terrorist attacks outside Afghanistan," the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry was responding to the allegation made by Pakistan's foreign ministry that evidence linked a key suspect in the probe, Rashid Rauf, to an "Afghanistan-based al-Qaida connection."

Apparently pointing a finger at Pakistan, the Afghan statement said, "As the recent evidence and ongoing investigations have revealed, al-Qaida continues to enjoy safe haven outside Afghanistan."

Afghan officials accuse Pakistan of doing too little to stop militants in Pakistani border regions from staging attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan says it is doing all it can to crush insurgents and has deployed 90,000 troops along the border.
SeattlePi