World News

Pakistan protests FBI sting operatioin

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - An FBI sting operation that used a fake assassination plot against a Pakistani diplomat to snare two leaders of a storefront mosque in Albany drew complaints from Pakistan on Aug. 10.

An FBI informant who said he was an arms dealer asked the two suspects to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan condemned the FBI sting operation, saying it was bizarre and dangerous.

"This has increased our ambassador's and our mission's vulnerability ... and could have endangered the life of our ambassador," Khan said in a statement.

A 19-count indictment, unsealed Aug. 9, charges Yassin Muhiddin Aref, 34, and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain, 49, with conspiring to launder money and promote terrorism. It did not provide details about allegations they are tied to an extremist group linked to al-Qaeda.

Aref's lawyer said the entire case is based on government fabrication, saying, "The facts of this case exist in the imagination of the government."

U.S. Attorney Glenn Suddaby said the Pakistani ambassador was never in any danger.

"It was not something that we thought anybody would be upset about," he said.

Shukan ST: Aug. 20, 2004

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